8 th GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS UNIT 5 LESSON PLAN (Fiction & Non-Fiction) Name: Pearson Anthology Paired Texts- fiction and non-fiction The 11:59 by Patricia McKissack The Baker Heater League by Patricia McKissack An American Childhood by Anne Dillard A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by Alice Walker Date: Weeks 26-29 Lesson Title: Unit 5 Fiction & Non Fiction Subject: Language Arts Grade Level 8 Overview of Unit: What is author s intent? Define and analyze informational text. Identify the genres fiction and non-fiction Make during reading connections Use domain specific vocabulary in writing expository and literary responses Use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words, Students will read selected fictional & informational paired texts from Pearson Anthology. Additionally, Ss will use technology to complete literary responses from selected texts. Using paired texts to identify similarities and differences in author s purpose and theme. SWBA to compose various responses using elements of good writing: introduction, well-developed body paragraphs citing textual evidence, using compositional risks, and writing a conclusion. SWBA to identify author s purpose SWBA to add up detail to determine the Main Idea SWBA to compare and contrast author s purpose and compose literary response using elements of good writing.
ALIGNMENT TO 21 st CENTURY SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY 21 st Century/ Interdisciplinary Themes: Bold all that apply 21 st Century Skills: Bold all that apply Global Awareness Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy Civic Literacy Health Literacy Environmental Literacy Creativity & Innovation Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Communication & Collaboration Media Literacy Information Literacy Information, Communication & Technology Life and Career Skills Learning Targets BIG IDEA: In order to comprehend nonfiction text good readers will adjust reading rate to recognize main ideas and key points. Good readers will make connections between key points and supporting details. The differences between fact and opinion must be recognized as well as the clues to distinguish between fact and opinion. Analyze structure and purpose, identify the main idea, historical content, compare fiction and nonfiction. Lastly, using paired texts, students will distinguish between author s purpose and theme. NJSLSLA: Anchor Standards: Reading RI 81. Cite several pieces of textual evidence and make relevant connection to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RI 8.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. R 8.3: Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and idea in a text.(e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events). RI 8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone, RI 8.5. Analyze the structure an author used to organize a text, including how the major sections contributes to the whole and to the development of the ideas. RI 8.6 Determine an author s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others Read and comprehend literary and informational texts independently and proficiently with scaffolding as needed, RI 8.9.Analyze and reflect on (e.g. practical knowledge, historical/cultural context, and background knowledge) how two or more author s writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing RI 810 By the end of the year read and comprehend literary nonfiction at grade level text- Complimentary Standards: Foundational Skills, Language, Speaking and Listening L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking L2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. L4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials as appropriate. L5> Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings. c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases. l.4.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. a. Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context. b. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. c. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
complexity or above, with scaffolding as needed, W 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. W 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. W 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, W 6. Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. W 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. W 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflections, and revision0 and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences, l.4.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What makes a fluent reader and writer? How do readers make meaning? make connections? Why do readers need to pay attention to a writer s choice of words? What do readers do when they do not understand everything in the text? How do I figure out a word that I do not know? How does understanding a text s structure and graphic features help me understand its meaning? How does fluency affect comprehension? How do readers determine author s purpose and make inferences from information given? How does literature from other times and places connect to me? How do readers determine the main idea and supporting details within a text? How do characters affect other characters and the story plot? How does the reader learn about a character through the text? How can comparing texts and parts of text help readers? How does writing about a personal connection with the text help the readers understand the text? Why is it important to compare and contrast themes, ideas and issues between various texts? How do writers express their thoughts and feelings? ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS Understanding of a text s features, structures, and characteristics facilitate the reader s ability to make meaning of the text. Readers use language structure and content clues to identify the intended meaning of words and phrases as they are used in text. Fluent readers group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Good readers employ strategies to help them understand text. Strategic readers can develop, select, and apply strategies to enhance their comprehension. Words powerfully affect meaning. Good readers compare, infer, synthesize, and make connections (text to text, text to word, text to self) to make text personally relevant and useful. Good writers develop and refine their ideas for thinking, learning, communicating, and aesthetic expression. Good writers use a repertoire of strategies that enables them to vary form and style, in order to write for different purposes, audiences, and contexts. Oral discussion helps to build connections to others and create opportunities for learning.
How do writers develop a well written product and convey precise messages? Where do ideas and purposes for writing come from? How do the rules of language affect communication? Why do writers choose a particular form of writing? How does a speaker communicate so others will listen and understand the message? How does an organizational strategy create a focused and organized piece of writing? Why revise writing? What strategies do good listeners use? What are the common characteristics of various genre? How does the organizational pattern change according to the author s purpose and genre? How do people cope in difficult situations? How can an author show what it takes to be a leader? What happens when one person helps another? How can characters actions inspire us to do good things? What motivates one character to help another? How can movies express facts and opinions? What are the common characteristics of realistic fiction? Informational text? How do genres differ? Questioning and contributing help speakers convey their message, explore issues and clarify their thinking. Effective listeners are able to interpret and evaluate increasingly complex messages. Different genres of writing have different purposes and characteristics that make them interesting and appealing to readers. Life shapes narrative literature and narrative literature shapes life. Accomplished readers are fluent, constructive, strategic, and motivated. Effective writing speaks to a specific audience and has a clear purpose. Punctuation and grammar impact a writer s message. Critical readers question the text, consider various perspectives and look for author s bias in order to think, live and act differently. Accomplished researchers extract information from sources and draw logical conclusions. Quality literature provides rich and timeless insights into the key themes, dilemmas, and challenges we all face. Different genres of writing have different purposes and characteristics that make them interesting and appealing to readers. Mini-lesson Principles from the Comprehensive Language and Literacy Guide serve to highlight more enduring understandings as well as strategies for students to apply directly to their reading. Lesson 6 Readers: Compare and contrast characters to understand how they are alike and different. Think about characters choices and what their choices tell you about them. Notice details to understand the author s attitude toward the subject. Lesson 7 Readers: Notice the difference between facts and the author s thoughts, feelings, or beliefs. Recognize that facts can be proved and opinions cannot. Use the features of informational text to help them understand the topic. Lesson 8 Readers notice: The ways in which the author helps them get to know the
characters. How characters influence one another to understand what they do and how they feel. How authors may show steps in a process in different ways. Lesson 9 Readers: Notice that they can use clues to figure out things the author does not tell them. Think about whether the ideas an author gives are believable to form their own opinions. Notice that authors may organize information in categories to explain a topic. it. UNIT LEARNING TARGETS: (weekly skills chart will defines learning targets with specific detail as well) Students will be able to Read with fluency and comprehension on instructional level with support from the teacher Read independently to apply skills and strategies learned on instructional level Participate in shared, independent, and guided reading using a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts Use inferring and predicting, questioning, analyzing / evaluating, visualizing, summarizing and monitoring/ clarifying to better understand text while reading Develop fluency and reading strategies for both decoding and comprehension through shared and guided reading Make connections (T-T, T-S, T-W) Monitor understanding of text and clarify meaning as needed Infer and predict to compare and contrast Distinguish fact from opinion when summarizing Visualize to understand characters Ask and answer questions about narrative and informational text to draw conclusions and make generalizations Listen to fluent reading Listen to hold a literature discussion, compare and contrast, distinguish fact from opinion Look up words using the dictionary, computer, smartphone. Read high frequency words and target vocabulary in context Listen, understand and use target vocabulary Use suffixes, Greek and Latin word parts, idioms, antonyms, and analogies to help understand word meanings and improve writing Recognize author s craft in use of 6+1 Traits of Writing that can be applied to writing Write to respond focusing on the trait of sentence fluency applying the mini-lesson targeted skills
Write a good topic sentence with supporting details Identify characteristics and draft a response to literature, opinion paragraph, poem and response essay. Use RACER (Restate, Answer, Cite, Experience, Retell NOT Restate) to answer literature response questions Revise and edit writing with teacher or partner support Use technology during the writing process Use verbs, conjunctions, pronouns and commas correctly in writing ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE TASKS: Weekly short story quizzes quizzes Scope informational texts and accompanying teacher guides and student materials Write a response to literature and response essay Unit Assessment of literary terms and devices Use of various writing rubrics Vocabulary warm-up practices. OTHER EVIDENCE: CARRS Benchmark Assessment in September Use of Language Arts Binder Peer-evaluation rubrics Use rubric to self- assess writing
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS The Random House Achievement Program Secondary Solutions Novel Guide Scope Magazine Youtube Supplemental handouts
DIFFERENTIATION Special Education BSI Gifted & Talented Provide modifications and accommodations as listed in student s IEP Position student near teacher Modify or reduce assignments and test Reduce assignments One on one Use graphic organizers Reteach Worksheet Small Groups instruction Provide teacher notes Position students near helping peer or sitting close to front of room Increase one to one Prioritize tasks Use graphic organizers Use interactive math journals Use online resources for skill building Use collaborative grouping strategies such as small groups Reteach pages Learning environment modified towards independence and varied assignments. Utilize exploratory connections to higher grade Concepts Literature Circles