Determine Text Importance/Compare and Contrast

Teacher s Guide Grade 3 Unit 8 2 Week Benchmark Literacy TM Determine Text Importance/Compare and Contrast Unit 8/Week 2 at a Glance Day ONE TWO Mini-Lessons Build Genre Background Introduce the Genre: Tall Tale Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tale Model Metacognitive Strategies: Determine Text Importance Introduce Compare and Contrast Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tale THREE Determine Text Importance to Identify Comparisons FOUR Build Comprehension: Identify Cause and Effect Build Tier Two Vocabulary: Adjectives FIVE Synthesize and Assess Genre Understanding Make Connections Across Texts B e n c h m a r k E d u c a t i o n C o m p a n y

Day One Read-Aloud (10 minutes) Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library to read and model the metacognitive strategy Determine Text Importance. Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview. Tall Tale Poster 1 Lesson Objectives Students will: Review the concept of genre and previously studied genres. Create a Tall Tale anchor chart to demonstrate prior knowledge. Build academic oral language and vocabulary as they engage in partner and whole-group discussion. Related Resources Genre Workshop Whiteboard CD-ROM Tall Tale Poster 1 (BLM 1) Mini-Lessons (20 minutes) Build Genre Background Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Last week we discussed the word genre. What are some examples of genre? Allow responses. Review: Remember, items that are in the same genre share certain qualities or characteristics. Think of all the different types of magazine genres: fashion, sports, music, cooking, news, and others. Fashion magazines feature clothing, shoes, models, and more, while sports magazines feature athletes, sporting events, gear, and other sports-related information. Say: As readers and writers, we focus on genres of literature. As readers, recognizing genre helps us know what content to expect in the text. As writers, we use our understanding of genre to help us develop and organize our ideas. Ask: What are the genres we have studied so far? Let s make a list. Allow responses. (Genres previously studied are: biography, personal narrative, historical fiction, realistic fiction, trickster tale, persuasive letter, and fairy tale.) Say: Think of a favorite book you ve read recently that is in one of the genres on the list. How does that book match the features of that genre? Post students ideas on the classroom wall as an anchor chart. 2 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day One Introduce the Genre: Tall Tale Display Genre Workshop Poster 1 and distribute Tall Tale Poster 1 (BLM 1). Say: This week we are going to focus on the tall tale genre. You will read tall tales in our small reading groups, and you can select other titles from this genre to read independently, too. Let s spend some time thinking about this genre and create our own Tall Tale anchor chart to record what we already know about tall tales. Later in the week, we can come back to our chart and reflect on how our understanding of the genre has changed and expanded. Display Poster 1 on an easel or using the Whiteboard CD-ROM. You may also make a transparency from BLM 1. Show students several tall tales from your classroom or school library and ask students to share any tall tales they have read previously. Read each question on Poster 1 and encourage volunteers to share ideas they have related to the question. Based on students prior knowledge, provide additional genre background information as needed to fill in the answers to each question. This poster can serve as an anchor chart that you and students can refer to throughout the week as you read and analyze tall tales. Support the academic language development of ELLs and struggling readers by providing the following sentence frames to use as they discuss the genre: A tall tale is. The purpose of a tall tale is to. When you read a tall tale, pay attention to. People who write tall tales are. Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs Beginning and Intermediate Show various tall tales from your classroom or school library. Use simple language to explain that tall tales have been passed down orally and use exaggeration to tell how a superhuman character often based on a real person from history overcomes a challenge. For example, say: A tall tale is a story, passed down from generation to generation, featuring a larger-than-life character that uses superhuman strength or courage to solve a problem. Look at this tall tale. This tall tale tells about. All Levels If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates: hero/el héroe; exaggeration/la exageración. Model the academic sentence frames provided in this guide to help ELLs contribute their ideas to the discussion of tall tales. 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 3

Day One Support Special Needs Learners Throughout the week, use these strategies to help students who have learning disabilities access the content and focus on genre studies and comprehension strategies. Support students by projecting the posters on a whiteboard. Allow students to come to the whiteboard and circle, underline, or highlight features of the genre. Invite them to label what they see on the posters. Provide opportunities for active involvement. For example, to understand superhuman qualities of tall tale characters, invite students to take on the role of the hero or heroine in a tall tale, and use details from the story to role-play the characters. Provide repeated opportunities for students to analyze the features of tall tales. Find features of tall tales in text examples from read-alouds, small-group, and independent reading. Chart the features on graphic organizers and post them in your classroom as examples. Find tall tales that will be meaningful to students. Use the recommended readaloud titles provided in the Teacher s Guide, as well as other examples from your school library. Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tale Point to the Features of a Tall Tale web on the right side of the poster. Say: As we ve discussed, every genre shares certain consistent features. Based on our discussions so far, what features do you think all, or most, tall tales share? Let s work together to identify them. Allow students enough time to generate their own ideas, and record the features they identify on the web. Reread the features together. As necessary, prompt students with the following questions and statements: Who are the characters in tall tales? How do they differ from characters in other stories? What kind of problems do the heroes or heroines solve? What makes a tall tale funny? Connect and transfer. Say: This week you will read some tall tales. Understanding the genre will help you read with better comprehension. Tall Tale Poster 1, sample annotations 4 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day One Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes) Based on students instructional reading levels, select titles that provide opportunities for students to focus on tall tales or to practice comparing and contrasting. See the list provided on the Small-Group Reading Instructional Planner. Use the instruction provided in the Teacher s Guide for each title to introduce the text. Comprehension Quick-Check Note which students do or don t actively participate in the discussion of genre. Ask some questions at the end of the lesson to confirm students understanding. For example: What do you already know about the concept of genre? What do you already know about the tall tale genre? Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes) Confer with individual students to discuss their understanding of the genre. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference. Word Study Workshop (20 minutes) Use the Day 1 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Skill Bag 23. Home/School Connection Ask students to think about a problem big or small they would like to solve. Then tell them to create a larger-than-life hero or heroine with a superhuman ability to solve the problem. They are to draw a picture of the character and write a few sentences describing how the character uses his or her superhuman qualities to solve the problem. 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 5

Day Two Read-Aloud (10 minutes) Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy Determine Text Importance. Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview. Tall Tale Poster 2 Lesson Objectives Students will: Determine important text in a tall tale. Compare and contrast using a graphic organizer. Use academic sentence frames to discuss strategies and features of a tall tale. Related Resources Genre Workshop Whiteboard CD-ROM Tall Tale Poster 2 (BLM 2) Mini-Lessons (20 minutes) Model Metacognitive Strategies: Determine Text Importance Display Genre Workshop Poster 2 with the genre annotations concealed. Also distribute copies of Tall Tale Poster 2 (BLM 2). Read aloud the poster passage with students. Explain: Recognizing what words and phrases are most important in a tall tale can help readers understand the characters and events and clarify what may be confusing. Determining text importance also helps readers infer the big ideas and themes in a story. Let me show you how I determine text importance in this tall tale. Think aloud: In the first paragraph, the author uses the phrase as smart as a dolphin to describe Stormalong. I know from the title that Stormalong is the hero of this tall tale, and I know that tall tales always have a superhuman main character. For these reasons, I determined that the phrase as smart as a dolphin is important because it lets me know that Stormalong has superhuman smarts. Ask students to determine other important words or phrases in the tall tale. Write their findings on chart paper and reread them together. Encourage ELLs to use the sentence frame: The most important text is because it tells. 6 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day Two Introduce Compare and Contrast Explain: Tall tales feature larger-than-life characters. To help readers imagine these characters, authors sometimes compare the character to something or someone very familiar. To compare is to show how two or more things are alike. For example, an author may use a comparison to describe an extraordinarily tall character as being as tall as a building. Comparisons, then, are important text to which readers need to pay close attention. Reread Stormalong the Sailor. Ask students to identify the comparisons in the tale that help them imagine the larger-than-life characters. Provide the following academic sentence frames to support ELLs and struggling students: Stormalong is as smart as a. Stormalong is as tall as a and strong as. I can tell the octopus is large because. Stormalong dives like a. Record the comparisons on a graphic organizer like the one shown below. Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs Beginning Use physical gestures and role-play to describe Stormalong s superhuman qualities. For example, reach high up in the air as you repeat the sentence Stormalong stood as tall as a ship s mast. Then flex your muscles as you say Stormalong was as strong as ten whales. Display a picture or photo of a sailor. Say the word sailor. Explain that a sailor works on a ship at sea. Intermediate Pour maple syrup in a bowl. Invite ELLs to feel the syrup and then describe it to help them better understand the story. What Is Being Compared? baby Stormalong and a dolphin teen Stormalong and whales octopus and battleship Stormalong and a cannon ball How Are They Alike? both smart both tall, strong same size dive alike All Levels Display side-by-side pictures of an octopus and a battleship to illustrate how great the size of the octopus is in the tale. If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates: pirate/el pirata; dolphin/el delfín; monster/el monstruo. Sample Compare and Contrast Annotations (Note: Your class graphic organizer may differ.) 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 7

Day Two Comprehension Quick-Check Note which students are or are not able to compare and contrast. Use the following strategies to provide additional explicit instruction. Display the Features of a Tall Tale web on your class Tall Tale anchor chart. Point to the feature The hero has superhuman strength or skill. Say: To help us imagine Stormalong s superhuman traits, the author compares the sailor to certain animals and other things we know well. For example, he compares baby Stormalong to a dolphin. Dolphins are known for being very smart. This helps us know that Stormalong was very smart when he was just a baby. Let s look for more comparisons. Oral Language Extension Display Poster 1 during independent workstation time. Working in pairs, students choose a role model. Together, they transform that role model into the hero or heroine of a tall tale that they create. Remind them to consider each feature of a tall tale as they make up their story. One partner is to jot down the tale as they make it up. Point out that they will each share the tale during independent conference time. Home/School Connection Have students turn in their homework from the night before. If time allows, invite them to briefly share the hero or heroine they created, the problem he or she faced, and how the problem was solved. Have students take home BLM 2, reread the text, and highlight and label the features of a tall tale present in the passage. Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tale Ask students to name some of the features of a tall tale that you discussed yesterday. Say: Now let s reexamine Stormalong the Sailor and look for features of a tall tale. What do you notice? Work with students to identify the following genre features embedded in this passage: a hero with superhuman strength, smarts, etc. the hero s fights with bullies and how he outwits them exaggerations about the larger-than-life characters and what happens to them Reveal the poster annotations so that students can confirm or revise their ideas. Reread them as a group. Connect and transfer. Say: As you read tall tales, look for these features. The comparisons in a tall tale will help you imagine the larger-than-life characters. As you read, remember to look for important text, such as phrases that compare characters, and exaggerations. Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes) Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the instruction provided in the Teacher s Guide for each text. Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes) Confer with individual students to discuss their understanding of genre and comprehension strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference. Word Study Workshop (20 minutes) Use the Day 2 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Skill Bag 23. 8 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day Three Read-Aloud (10 minutes) Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy Determine Text Importance. Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview. Mini-Lessons (20 minutes) Determine Text Importance to Identify Comparisons Display Genre Workshop Poster 3 and distribute BLM 3. Read aloud the passage with students. Say: We are going to identify comparisons in this passage together. To do that, we re going to determine the most important text, such as words that signal comparisons. I will find a comparison signal word, and then I want you to determine important text on your own. When Mose carried the fire truck down Broadway, he wailed like a fire alarm. The signal word like is important because it compares Mose s wail to a fire alarm. I know what a fire alarm sounds like, so now I know what Mose sounded like. Say: Now you determine important text. Remember, signal words are important, but so are descriptive words and phrases that let us know about the character and events in a story. Allow responses. If students are unable to determine important text, prompt them to think about the following: What words describe how old Mose is and what he is like? What words describe how big Mose is? What words describe how strong Mose is? Say: Determining important text, especially words that signal comparisons, helps us better understand the character. Let s write the comparisons on a Venn diagram. We can also make contrasts by inferring differences. Then we will use our findings to develop a compare-and-contrast statement. Tall Tale Poster 3 Lesson Objectives Students will: Review features of the tall tale genre. Determine text importance. Use their understanding of genre features to identify comparisons and contrasts. Develop a compare-and-contrast statement. Build oral language and vocabulary through whole-group and partner discussion. Related Resources Genre Workshop Whiteboard CD-ROM Tall Tale Poster 3 (BLM 3) Compare and Contrast (BLM 4) Work with students to identify how Mose and a fire truck are alike and different. Reinforce how comparisons in a tall tale are related to specific features of the genre. Record the comparisons in the overlapping section of the Venn diagram like the one shown on page 10. Record contrasts in the parts that do not overlap. Work with students to develop a compare-and-contrast statement based on the information in the Venn diagram. Reinforce the idea that even though the author did not directly state differences, or contrasts, we can figure them out using what we already know. 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 9

Day Three Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs Beginning Display a photo of a fire truck and say the word fire truck. Play a recording of a wailing fire alarm. Beginning and Intermediate Point out the Lower East Side on a map of New York City. Show photos of the Lower East Side from approximately 150 years ago. Remind students that sometimes in a tall tale, comparisons and contrasts are not stated directly. In these cases, readers must use clues and what they know to figure out, or infer, how things are alike and different. Connect and transfer. Say: Today, as you continue to read a tall tale in your small groups, remember to look for important text, such as compare and contrast signal words, to better understand characters and events in the tale. All Levels If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates from the text as needed: hero/el héroe; gallon/el galón; alarm/la alarma. Mose the Fireman man wailed; went down Broadway to put out fire Fire Truck vehicle Comprehension Quick-Check Note whether students can generate comparisons and contrasts based on the passage. If they need additional support, review the features of a tall tale using Poster 1. Then highlight or underline specific comparisons between Mose and a fire truck on Poster 3 using a write-on/wipe-off marker. Say: In a tall tale, comparisons help illustrate a character s superhuman qualities. Have students underline or highlight additional comparisons on the poster with you. Home/School Connection Have students take home the Venn diagram (BLM 4) and compare and contrast two tall tale characters. Tell students to keep in mind the features of the tall tale genre as they compare and contrast the characters. Sample Compare and Contrast Annotations Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes) Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the instruction provided in the Teacher s Guide for each text. Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes) Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of genre and comprehension strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference. Word Study Workshop (20 minutes) Use the Day 3 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Skill Bag 23. 10 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day Four Read-Aloud (10 minutes) Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy Determine Text Importance. Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy Overview. Mini-Lessons (20 minutes) Build Comprehension: Identify Cause and Effect Say: In a tall tale, the reason a hero or heroine is able to outwit the enemy is because of a superhuman strength or skill. This is a cause-and-effect relationship: the effect, or outcome, is outwitting the enemy; the cause, or reason, is the main character s superhuman power. Let s identify the effects, or results, of Mose s superhuman strength based on the tale on this poster. Reread Poster 3 with students. Say: We are going to make a cause-and-effect chart. We will add to the chart information that helps us understand the causes, or reasons, for the events in the tale. To find effects, ask yourself What happened? To find causes, ask Why did it happen? If necessary, prompt students by asking the following questions: Why did Mose haul a hundred-gallon bucket from the East River? Why could Mose swim across the Hudson in two strokes? Why did Mose carry a fire truck down Broadway? What was the effect? Tall Tale Poster 3 Lesson Objectives Students will: Identify cause and effect. Extend Tier Two Vocabulary by focusing on adjectives. Build oral language and vocabulary through whole-group and partner discussion. Related Resources Genre Workshop Whiteboard CD-ROM Tall Tale Poster 3 (BLM 3) 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 11

Day Four Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs Beginning As you identify cause and effect in the tall tale, make sure ELLs understand that a cause is why something happens and an effect is what happens. Stand a book up on its end on a desk. Then use a pencil to knock it over. Explain that the effect is the book falling over (what happened), and the cause is the pencil hitting it (why). Beginning and Intermediate Review adjectives by pointing to items in the classroom and using adjectives to describe them. For example, red shirt, hard window, fuzzy sweater, big flag, sharp pencil. Then point to the picture of the fire, and reread the sentence: A great fire broke out on Broadway. Say: Great is an adjective, too. It means very big. Ask students to brainstorm other adjectives that mean very big. (giant, huge, large, enormous) On chart paper, draw a cause-and-effect chart like the one shown below. Think/Pair/Write/Share. Tell students they will complete this chart. Say: Work with a partner to identify effects of Mose s superhuman traits. Remember, his traits are the causes. Then we will share our findings as a group. As partners share causes and effects from the tale, add them to the chart. Connect and transfer. Say: Remember, when you read a tall tale, you can find causes and effects by asking yourself What happened? and Why did it happen? Cause Mose hauled a hundredgallon bucket from the East River. Mose was ten feet tall with hands as big as Virginia hams. Effect Mose put out a great fire. Mose swam across the Hudson River in two strokes. Intermediate and Advanced Invite ELLs to share adjectives from their first languages. Provide multiple examples of appropriate contexts in which to apply the adjectives. Provide opportunities for students to produce the adjective. All Levels Pair ELLs with fluent English speakers during partner discussions and activities. Comprehension Quick-Check Take note of students who may need more support identifying cause-and-effect relationships. Provide additional modeling during small-group reading. Have students practice during independent workstation time by identifying the effects of another character s superhuman skills from a different tall tale that you assign. Old Number 40 broke its wheels. Mose carried the fire truck down Broadway. Mose carried the fire truck down Broadway. Mose put out the fire. 12 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day Four Build Tier Two Vocabulary: Adjectives On chart paper, write the sentence One day a great fire broke out on Broadway. Say: Great is an adjective, a word that describes a noun. What do you think great means? What is great describing in this sentence? Turn and talk. Ask students to turn and talk with their neighbor for a moment to come up with a definition. Ask students to share their definitions, and record them on chart paper. Students should understand that great is describing the size of the fire, and it means very big. Oral Language Extension During independent workstation time, ask pairs of students to tell their partners about the similarities and differences of the two tall tale characters they compared and contrasted as homework on Day 3. Home/School Connection Have students take home BLM 3 and read it with a family member to practice fluent reading. Tell students to have their family members sign the page to indicate they have participated in the reading. Remind students that exaggeration is a feature of tall tales. Using strong adjectives, such as great, helps to describe something in a big and exaggerated way. Have volunteers suggest other adjectives that could be used to describe the fire. Then have them suggest adjectives that could be used to describe Mose. Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes) Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the instruction provided in the Teacher s Guide for each text. Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes) Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of genre and word-solving strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference. Word Study Workshop (20 minutes) Use the Day 4 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Skill Bag 23. 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 13

Day Five Read-Aloud (10 minutes) Revisit the week s read-alouds to make text-to-text connections and provide opportunities for reader response. Use the suggested activities in the Benchmark Literacy Overview, or implement ideas of your own. Tall Tale Poster 4 Lesson Objectives Students will: Summarize what they know about tall tales. Make text-to-text connections. Build academic oral language and vocabulary through small-group and whole-group discussions. Related Resources Genre Workshop Whiteboard CD-ROM Tall Tale Poster 4 (BLM 5) Mini-Lessons (20 minutes) Synthesize and Assess Genre Understanding Synthesize genre understanding. Ask students to work in teams to summarize what they now know about the tall tale genre. Tell students that each group member should contribute an idea to the discussion. Each group should appoint one member to be the group s recorder. Another student should be the group s spokesperson. Give students five to seven minutes to discuss and record their ideas. Have each group s spokesperson share his or her group s ideas. Record key concepts from each group on chart paper. Self-assessment. Display the class Tall Tale anchor chart from Day 1. Ask each group to compare their group s ideas to the information they recorded on the anchor chart on Day 1. Ask: How has your understanding of the tall tale genre developed? What do you know now that you didn t know before? Encourage individual students to share their personal insights. Connect and transfer. Ask: How can you use your new understanding of this genre as a reader the next time you read a tall tale? How do you think you can use your genre knowledge as a writer? Make Connections Across Texts Display Tall Tale Poster 4. Say: You have read tall tales this week. Sometimes in school and on tests, you will be asked to make connections between different fiction and nonfiction texts. Today we are going to practice making connections between tall tales. 14 Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Day Five Ask each group to use BLM 5 to summarize the features of the two tall tales Stormalong the Sailor and Mose the Fireman by responding to the prompts along the side of the chart for each tall tale. Give students about five minutes to record their answers. Then bring the groups together and have them share their ideas. Challenge students to express their own opinions on these subjects: Which hero would you most want to be like? Why? Which tall tale was more fun to read? Why? Connect and transfer. Say: When you summarize tall tales, think about how each tale reflects the features of the genre. Did the writer use exaggeration to describe larger-than-life characters or incredible events? Did the hero of the tale outwit his enemy? Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes) Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the instruction provided in the Teacher s Guide for each text. Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs Beginning Allow beginning ELLs to participate as active listeners in their groups. Intermediate and Advanced Provide sentence frames to help ELLs contribute to their groups discussions. For example: One feature of a tall tale is. These tall tales are alike because. These tall tales are different because. All Levels Pair ELLs with fluent English speakers during all partner and group activities. Encourage ELLs to revisit the tall tales they are comparing and contrasting and to find and read specific information in the text to help them communicate their ideas. Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes) Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the tall tale genre. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference. Word Study Workshop (20 minutes) Use the Day 5 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Skill Bag 23. 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy Grade 3 Unit 8/Week 2 15