Grade 8 English Module 2 - West Contra Costa Unified ... · PDF fileGrade 8 English Module 2...

N: Curriculum/ELA-Secondary/Gr8/ELA Module-Sem2_TeacherPacket/LB-CN K-12 Instructional Support

Common Core

Instructional Module

Grade 8 English

Module 2

TEACHER PACKET


Common Core-Aligned Instructional Module

Grade 8, Semester 2 How do information, knowledge, and experience influence our understanding of the world?

Overview

1) The recommended novel for this module is Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In this novel, the predominant concept throughout is the importance of the various lessons Milo learns on his journey. The knowledge he gains enables him to fight his way past the demons that inhabit the Mountains of Ignorance. The princesses Rhyme and Reason represent wisdom. They help Milo see the impact his knowledge has had and will continue to have on his life and those around him. Teachers may choose to have students read the entire novel, or select passages for close reading that capture the essence of the story and support the essential question: How do information, knowledge, and experience influence our understanding of the world?

2) Prentice Hall selections were chosen that address the essential question with similar themes by asking how much information is enough. For example, in the excerpt from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” a girl receives lessons in learning that encourage her to gather wisdom from those around her. Students learn how her interactions with other people influenced her ideas about life while reflecting on their own personal experiences. In “The Trouble with Television,” the author expresses doubts about the quality of the information television offers, and presents a persuasive case that it has a negative effect on society and our understanding of the world. In “Science and the Sense of Wonder” Asimov argues that scientific knowledge adds to our sense of wonder about the universe.

3) Three CCSS-aligned ELA/Literacy instructional strategies are identified for district-wide focus:

Reading & writing informational text

Academic discourse/collaborative conversations

Formative assessments

These instructional strategies are at the heart of the modules as we prepare our students to be college and career ready. The teacher packet includes support materials for each of these strategies.

4) At the conclusion of this module, students will be asked to analyze and synthesize information from several sources which address the essential question in a SBAC-like explanatory writing performance task. Please note this is NOT a summative assessment about the novel and/or the Prentice Hall selections. Students will be expected to cite evidence from the sources provided in the writing assessment to address the essential question “How do information, knowledge, and experience influence our understanding of the world?


Text Selections and Other Resources

Prentice Hall Selections *ONLY in new CCSS Edition (TE); **BOTH new (TE) and Timeless Voices (SE);

No asterisk – ONLY in Timeless Voices (SE) Additional Selections

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”** (TE 513, SE 32)

“The Trouble with Television”** (TE 556, SE 668)

“Science and the Sense of Wonder”* (TE 581)

“The Road Not Taken”** (TE 774, SE 44)

“Six Blind Men and an Elephant: A Fable”

“How to be a Critical Media Viewer”

“Why Leaves Change Color”

Prentice Hall Common Core Companion (student workbook): includes graphic organizers for Common Core

literacy skills

District website http://www.wccusd.net: for additional resources select Instruction English Language

Arts Secondary

This module highlights the following College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards (see grade level standards for additional specificity):

CCR.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCR.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. CCR.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. CCR.W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. CCR.W.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. CCR.W.9: Draw evidence from literary and or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. CCR.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. CCR.L.3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. CCR.L.4: 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. CCR.L.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning.

http://www.wccusd.net/


CLOSE READING: “Road Not Taken”

R.8.1 Cite textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.

R.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings…

Lesson Procedure

Students read the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and use that to deepen their exploration of the module’s

essential question. They will take notes of the close analytic reading of the poem.

1. Read the poem aloud and then direct students to reread the poem independently. Use a “Think Aloud” to model a close

reading of the title and stanza 1 of the poem. Use these guiding questions to model the “Think Aloud.”

(Q1): What is the speaker thinking about at the beginning of the poem?

The speaker remembers standing in the woods at a fork in the road and regretting being just one person, which meant

that he was not able to travel both roads in the “fork” at the same time. He says that he stood for a long time examining

one of the roads until it passed out of sight in the brush. TEXT EVIDENCE: “two roads diverged,” “sorry I could not travel

both,” “one traveler,” “long I stood,” “looked down one as far as I could,” “To where it bent in the undergrowth”

(Q2): What is the tone at the beginning of the poem? Cite specific words and details that contribute to this tone.

The beginning of the poem has a tone of regret. TEXT EVIDENCE: The word “Not” in the title creates a negative feeling;

the speaker uses the word “sorry,” which implies regret. The speaker points out his own limitations by saying that he

“could not travel both” roads. The woods are “yellow,” a description which suggests autumn, a time of year associated

with endings, death, etc.

(Q3): Understanding poetry often involves understanding the difference between what is said and what is meant. For

example, the two roads could literally be two roads, as the speaker says. However, the “two roads” could also be a

metaphor for something else. What could the “two roads” represent?

The two roads could represent choices that people have to make in their lives. The speaker says he could not travel both

roads at once because he is only one person, so he had to make a choice about which way to go. Making a choice is not

always easy or simple; sometimes we wish we didn’t have to choose at all. TEXT EVIDENCE: “two roads diverged,” “sorry

I could not travel both”

2. Direct students to read lines 1-12 independently. (NOTE: For struggling readers, revisiting the first five lines after the

previous discussion enables them to better understand the literal and also the figurative meaning of the poem.)

3. Divide the class into pairs and direct each pair to respond to guiding questions about what they have read and reread.

Students should record their responses on note paper.

(Q4): What does the speaker do rather abruptly at the beginning of the second stanza (line 6)?

After considering one road for quite a while, the speaker suddenly decides to take the other road. TEXT EVIDENCE:

“Then took the other”

(Q5): Cite details that describe the physical appearance of the two roads.

One road has a bend at its farthest point; the other road looked just as nice and maybe even better because it was grass

covered and looked like people hadn’t used it very often. But, even with that, travelers had used both roads equally and

on this particular morning, both roads were covered in yellow leaves that nobody had made dirty by walking on them.

TEXT EVIDENCE: “looked down one as far as I could/To where it bent in the undergrowth;” “the other, as just as fair;”

“having perhaps the better claim;” “it was grassy and wanted wear;” “the passing there/Had worn them really about the

same;” “both that morning equally lay/In leaves no step had trodden black.”


Lesson Procedure, cont’d

4. Direct students to paraphrase lines 1-12 on their note paper. Circulate to scan what students are writing as a quick

check for understanding. Then read the entire poem aloud, directing students to listen for a shift or a change on the

part of the speaker. Share guiding questions to discuss the remaining 8 lines of the poem. Direct students to record

their responses.

(Q6): Paraphrase the speaker words in lines 13-15.

The speaker says that he hoped to return and take the other road at some point in the future. Yet, he knew

that the chances of that were slim, since time marches on with one day leading to another. He doubted that

he would ever go back.

(Q7): What does the speaker mean in lines 13-15?

The speaker implies that once life choices are made, once a “road” is chosen, going back is hard. As you gain

knowledge or have different life experiences, you may wish you had made different choices in your life. But

second chances don’t often occur. So, being able to go back and take the other road or make the other choice

probably won’t happen, and he senses that as he makes his choice at the beginning of stanza 2. The fact that

he is alone in this choice is also important – sometimes nobody can help you or make choices for you.

(Q8): How do these lines connect to the title of the poem? To the tone of the poem?

The title refers to the road not taken, and this section of the poem implies that it will probably always remain

the road not taken. The regretful tone of the opening still seems evident here. The speaker has made a

choice, alone with no help from anyone else and won’t have the chance to go back and make another choice.

(Q9): Remember that words have both denotations (dictionary definitions) and connotations (associated

suggestions or feelings). In line 16, the poet uses the word “sigh”? What feelings can be associated with a

sigh? What about the phrase “made all the difference”? How do people often respond to the phrase “made

a difference”? What specific difference did the speaker’s choice make?

A sigh is sometimes associated with relief, “a sigh of relief.” A sigh can also be associated with regret,

boredom, half-hearted acceptance, disapproval or disgust. The phrase “made all the difference” would

probably be seen as a positive thing; however, not all differences are good. And, the speaker never describes

or explains the difference.

(Q10): Is the speaker satisfied with having chosen the “one less traveled by”? Is there a shift in tone in lines

16-20? If so, explain the shift. If not, explain why there is no shift.

It is actually hard to tell. The sigh and the difference could both be interpreted as positive; on the other hand,

they could also be interpreted as negative.

5. Direct students to work individually for a few minutes to piece together the information from Qs 1-10 and the

class discussions in order to compose a theme statement for “The Road Not Taken.” Then ask students to

participate in a “Think-Pair-Share” to share and explain their theme statements, revise as necessary, and post

for the class to see. Conduct a class review of the theme statements to come to consensus on the best theme

statement for the poem. (EXAMPLES: Choice is inevitable in life. Knowing the consequences of one’s choices

is not always possible. Making choices is often a lonely endeavor.)

For homework you might have students write a paragraph explaining how the poem relates to the topic and

essential question of this unit.


Vocabulary Self-Selection (VSS): Literacy strategy for Reading Informational Text

Rationale: The purpose of the Vocabulary Self-Selection strategy is to help students generate a list of words to be explored and learned, and to use their own prior knowledge and interests to enhance their vocabulary. This strategy can be used to stimulate growth in word knowledge. Because the list is self-generated, an internal motivation is utilized. This strategy can help students become fascinated with language and thus, increase their enjoyment of the subject. VSS involves the following steps:

Selecting the words

Defining the words

Finalizing the word lists

Extending word knowledge

Procedure: Students are put into cooperative groups and asked to go through the assigned reading to identify words that they think ought to be studied further. Students are to find words that are important to understanding the content of a particular text selection. The meaning and importance of the words is explored and discussed in the cooperative groups prior to sharing them with the whole class. Next, a class list of words is developed. Each team submits one word from their list to the class, giving what the group thinks is its meaning and why they consider it important. Students’ prior knowledge is applied in the discussion. The word is recorded for display. Each group in turn submits a different word. This action is repeated until all selected words are on display. The teacher can also submit a word to the list. The teacher then leads a discussion for clarification and expansion of the meanings of the terms. A dictionary or the index of the text can be checked for word meanings when necessary, or students can be directed to use a tablet or other digital device to find further clarification. When the list is complete, the class may choose to delete some words for various reasons, such as duplication, words already known, or words the students do not desire to study. The definitions of the final vocabulary list are discussed for any needed clarification and then students record the words and definitions in their individual journals.


Bounce Card: Literacy Strategy for Vocabulary and Academic Discourse

Bounce Card BOUNCE: SUM IT UP: INQUIRE: Take what your classmate(s) said and bounce an idea off of it. For example, you can start your sentences with- “That reminds me of…” “I agree, because…” “True. Another example is when…” “That’s a great point…”

Rephrase what was just said in a shorter version. For example, you can start your sentences with- “I hear you saying that…” “So, if I understand you correctly…” “I like how you said…”

Understand what your classmates mean by asking them questions. For example, you can start your questions with- “Can you tell me more about that?” “I’m not sure I understand…” “Have you thought about…?”

Source: From Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner, Himmele 2011, ASCD

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY WORDS

New Words Quick-Write Definition Symbol or Picture


Single to Double Venn: Literacy Strategy for Academic Discourse

Deconstructing Text: Single to Double Venn

Directions: Step 1: As you process the text independently, write down at least five key ideas, phrases, or words in the single Venn (top).

Step 2: Pair up with a classmate. Take turns sharing items from your single Venn. Compare your answers using the “double

Venn” to show what items you had in common and what items were different.

YOU PARTNER


Gallery Walk: Literacy Strategy for Academic Discourse This is a powerful strategy that can be used across content areas. The poster to the right was created by 10th grade students from our district addressing the essential question of their quarter 1 module.

RATIONALE

During a Gallery Walk, students explore multiple sets of texts and/or images that provoke critical thinking and discussion. It provides an effective approach to get students talking to each other and practicing academic discourse. Research shows that academic writing improves when students are given ample opportunity to engage in meaningful, guided academic conversations.

PROCEDURE

1. Determine the purpose of the gallery walk. Possibilities include

To spark interest and access prior knowledge as you prepare to engage students in learning new concepts or skills

To promote media literacy by teaching students to think critically and to question sources and context of images or text displayed

To analyze or synthesize essential learnings within a unit of study

To check for understanding which then informs next steps of instruction

To review content prior to a summative assessment

2. Select various types of texts including quotations, images, primary and secondary documents, graphs and charts, or student group work.

3. Display texts gallery style in a way that allows small groups of students to engage with the text and each other in academic discussion.

Provide focus questions to guide student discourse. Consider posting sentence starters to support the development of oral academic language. Sentence frames can then be provided for follow-up writing assignments.


S-O-S Summary: Literacy Strategy for Formative Assessment The S-O-S Summary is excellent writing practice strategy that helps students choose a point of view and support it with evidence presented in brief bulleted points. Teachers can use it frequently because it requires much less time than an essay—both to write and to assess. The S-O-S Summary is also good practice for students who are required to complete DBQs (document-based questions) in social studies, write critical-lens essays in English Language Arts, or ponder ethical dilemmas in science. Each of these tasks requires students to take a stand on a particular issue and support their point of view with evidence, facts, and examples. Give students a statement related to a topic you are about to teach or have completed. They must reflect on what it means, give their opinion, and support their opinion with evidence.

STATEMENT (provided by teacher):

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Restate in your own words:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

OPINION (check one): I agree I disagree

SUPPORT YOUR OPINION WITH EVIDENCE (facts, examples…)


Exit Slips: Literacy Strategy for Formative Assessment Exit slips are written student responses to a question posed at the end of a class or learning activity. Their main purpose is to inform next steps of instruction for the teacher. A blank half sheet is provided below. Broad sample prompts include:

One thing I don’t understand is…

Of the two strategies/skills… we learned today, which one did you find most useful? Why?

Write down one thing you learned today.

Rate your understanding of today’s topic on a scale of 1 – 10. What can you do to improve your understanding?

Discuss one way today’s lesson could be used in the real world.

Describe one topic that we covered today that you would like to learn more about.


40 copies of the

following resource

pages are provided

for each of your

English sections at

this grade level.


Six Blind Men and an Elephant: A Fable A parable of different perceptions

A long time ago in the valley of the Brahmaputra River in India there lived six men who were much inclined to boast of their wit and lore. Though they were no longer young and had all been blind since birth, they would compete with each other to see who could tell the tallest story.

One day, however, they fell to arguing. The object of their dispute was the elephant. Now, since each was blind, none had ever seen that mighty beast of whom so many tales are told. So, to satisfy their minds and settle the dispute, they decided to go and seek out an elephant.

Having hired a young guide, Dookiram by name, they set out early one morning in single file along the forest track, each placing his hands on the back of the man in front. It was not long before they came to a forest clearing where a huge bull elephant, quite tame, was standing contemplating his menu for the day.

The six blind men became quite excited; at last they would satisfy their minds. Thus it was that the men took turns to investigate the elephant's shape and form.

As all six men were blind, neither of them could see the whole elephant and approached the elephant from different directions. After encountering the elephant, each man proclaimed in turn:

'O my brothers,' the first man at once cried out, 'it is as sure as I am wise that this elephant is like a great mud wall baked hard in the sun.'

'Now, my brothers,' the second man exclaimed with a cry of dawning recognition, 'I can tell you what shape this elephant is - he is exactly like a spear.'

The others smiled in disbelief.

'Why, dear brothers, do you not see,' said the third man -- 'this elephant is very much like a rope,' he shouted.

'Ha, I thought as much,' the fourth man declared excitedly, 'This elephant much resembles a serpent.'

The others snorted their contempt.

'Good gracious, brothers,' the fifth man called out, 'even a blind man can see what shape the elephant resembles most. Why he's mightily like a fan.'

At last, it was the turn of the sixth old fellow and he proclaimed,

'This sturdy pillar, brothers' mine, feels exactly like the trunk of a great areca palm tree.'

Of course, no one believed him.

Their curiosity satisfied, they all linked hands and followed the guide, Dookiram, back to the village. Once there, seated beneath a waving palm, the six blind men began disputing loud and long. Each now had his own opinion, firmly based on his own experience, of what an elephant is really like. For after all, each had felt the elephant for himself and knew that he was right!

And so indeed he was. For depending on how the elephant is seen, each blind man was partly right, though all were in the wrong.

"Six Blind Men and an Elephant: A Fable." University of Iowa. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/csl03/blindmen.html>.

HOW TO BE A CRITICAL MEDIA VIEWER

1. Remember that all media images and messages are constructions. Ads and other media messages have been carefully crafted with the intent to send a very specific message.

2. Question why certain messages are consistently present in mainstream mediaand why others are absent.

3. Look closely at the appearance of media images: the colors, the editing, the camera angles, the appearance of the people (are they young and happy?),the location, and the sound or type of text.

4. Compare media images and portrayals of your surrounding environment withyour reality. Make a list of the differences so that you are more aware of them.

5. Investigate the source of the media images you encounter. Who owns the network that your favorite television show is on? What else does that corporationown? How does the ownership structure of media affect the news and entertainment we receive?(Media Ownership Chart http://www.thenation.com/special/bigten.html)

6. What other stories about the world exist than those you see in the media? (About relationships, health, peace & war, materialism, gender, finances, violence,globalization, sex, love, etc.)

(continued on next page)

60 Masonic St. | Northampton MA 01060 | TEL 800.897.0089/413.584.8500 | FAX 800.659.6882/413.586.8398 | [email protected] | www.mediaed.orgThis handout may be reproduced for educational, non-profit uses only. © 2005

http://www.mediaed.org


http://www.thenation.com/special/bigten.html

(continued from other page)

CRITICAL VIEWING ACTIVITIES

» Play the ‘press pause’ game with your class or family.

� Use a tape of your favorite TV program or movie.

� Watch the tape and pause it each time you see a product logo displayed.

� Make a list of how many times you paused the tape and which products you identified.

� Research product placement. How much do companies pay on average for product placement? How do you think product placement affects the story lines of movies and television programs?

� For more information, see Behind the Screens: Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial.

» Make a guess about how many advertisements you see during your favorite television program.Then count the number of ads you actually see. Compare your number with the actual number.

» Count the number of commercials you view when watching your favorite television show andask yourself:

� What products/services are being sold?

� What are the ads saying to you?

� Do you or would you actually use the advertised products or services? Why or why not?

� How many times did you see the same commercial?

» Count the number of ads that appear on your favorite homepage, and ask yourself:

� What products/services are being sold?

� What are the ads saying to you?

� Do you or would you actually use the advertised products or services? Why or why not?

» Count the number of pop-up ads you encounter during one hour of internet use:

� What products/services are being offered?

� Do you or would you actually use the products or services being offered? Why or why not?

» Think of all the places that you see advertisements. Compare your list with someone else’s.

For more critical media viewing activities, see MEF video study guides, available at

HTTP://WWW.MEDIAED.ORG/STUDYGUIDES

60 Masonic St. | Northampton MA 01060 | TEL 800.897.0089/413.584.8500 | FAX 800.659.6882/413.586.8398 | [email protected] | www.mediaed.orgThis transcript may be reproduced for educational, non-profit uses only. © 2005



http://www.mediaed.org/studyguides


Some people think that detailed scientific explanations of natural events take away from the emotional

impact of nature. Does the following explanation of the science behind changing colors spoil your

enjoyment of those colors? Or does the knowledge you gain increase your appreciation of the world

around you? After reading the article below, complete the sentence below. (circle one)

The more knowledge I accumulate about how natural systems work, the more / less curious I feel. This

is because _________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________.

How does autumn color happen?

For years, scientists have worked to understand the changes that happen to trees and shrubs in the autumn. Although we don't know all the details, we do know enough to explain the basics and help you to enjoy more fully nature's multicolored autumn farewell. Three factors influence autumn leaf color-leaf pigments, length of night, and weather, but not quite in the way we think. The timing of color change and leaf fall are primarily regulated by… the increasing length of night. None of the other environmental influences – temperature, rainfall, food supply, and so on – are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with nature's autumn palette.

Where do autumn colors come from?

A color palette needs pigments, and there are three types that are involved in autumn color.

Chlorophyll, which gives leaves their basic green color. It is necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to use sunlight to manufacture sugars for their food.

Carotenoids, which produce yellow, orange, and brown colors in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils, as well as rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.

Anthocyanins, which give color to such familiar things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. They are water soluble and appear in the watery liquid of leaf cells.

Both chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in the chloroplasts of leaf cells throughout the growing season. [Chloroplasts are specialized plant cell parts that carry out photosynthesis.] Most anthocyanins are produced in the autumn, in response to bright light and excess plant sugars within leaf cells.

During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually being produced and broken down and leaves appear green [because there is so much more chlorophyll than carotenoids]. As night length increases in the autumn, chlorophyll production slows down and then stops and eventually all the chlorophyll is gone. The carotenoids and anthocyanins that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and show their orange, brown and red colors.


Certain colors are characteristic of particular species. Oaks turn red, brown, or russet; hickories become golden bronze; aspen and yellow-poplar turn golden yellow; dogwood trees change to purplish red; and beech trees turn light tan. Maples differ species by species – red maple turns brilliant scarlet; sugar maple changes to orange-red; and black maple turns glowing yellow. Striped maple becomes almost colorless. Leaves of some trees such as elm simply shrivel up and fall, exhibiting little color other than drab brown.

The timing of the color change also varies by species. Some trees can become vividly colorful in late summer while all other species are still vigorously green. Oaks put on their colors long after other species have already shed their leaves. These differences in timing among species seem to be genetically inherited, for a particular species at the same latitude will show the same coloration in the cool temperatures of high mountain elevations at about the same time as it does in warmer lowlands.

How does weather affect autumn color?

The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences.

A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions – lots of sugar and lots of light – spur production of the brilliant red, purple, and crimson anthocyanin pigments. Carotenoids are always present in leaves so yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant.

The amount of moisture in the soil also affects autumn colors. Like the weather, soil moisture varies greatly from year to year. The countless combinations of these two highly variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike. A late spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks. A warm period during fall will also lower the intensity of autumn colors. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather, and warm sunny fall days with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors.

What triggers leaves to fall off the tree?

In early autumn, in response to the shortening days and declining intensity of sunlight, leaves begin the processes leading up to their fall. The veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off as a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf. These clogged veins trap sugars in the leaf and promote production of anthocyanins. Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off, the leaf is ready to fall.

What happens to all those fallen leaves?

Needles and leaves that fall are not wasted. They decompose and restock the soil with nutrients and make up part of the spongy humus layer of the forest floor that absorbs and holds rainfall. Fallen leaves also become food for numerous soil organisms vital to the forest ecosystem.

It is quite easy to see the benefit to the tree of its annual leaf fall, but the advantage to the entire forest is more subtle. It could well be that the forest could no more survive without its annual replenishment from leaves than the individual tree could survive without shedding these leaves. The many beautiful interrelationships in the forest community leave us with myriad fascinating puzzles still to solve.

"Why Leaves Change Color." USDA Forest Service. Ed. Keith Tackett. 7 July 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/pubs/leaves/leaves.shtm>.

Literacy Strategy: Reading and Writing Informational Text

ACADEMIC SUMMARY TEMPLATE

In the , (“A” Text type) (title of text)

(full name of author) (“B” Precise Verb)

,

the topic of

. S/he (topic/issue of text) (“C” Precise Verb + “that”)

. (author’s main argument/belief on the topic/issue)

Continue the summary by citing evidence that supports the author’s argument or belief on the topic/issue you identified on the line above.

Ultimately, what is trying to convey (through) his/her (author) (“A” Text Type)

is . (main point)

A Types of Text

essay editorial article research paper narrative report letter speech short story vignette memoir poem novel

movie drama/play

B Precise Verbs

addresses debates discusses disputes examines opposes explores contests considers questions analyzes scrutinizes criticizes comments on elaborates on focuses on reflects on argues for argues against

C

Precise “Verbs + that” asserts argues posits maintains claims notes proposes declares concedes states believes suggests implies infers

Connectors

in addition furthermore moreover another besides…also further additionally beyond….also ….as well

Munevar Gagnon, Sonia. "Academic Summary Template." Santa Ana Unified School District. 30 Sept. 2013. Web.


Bounce Card

Name: Date: Period:

BOUNCE: SUM IT UP: INQUIRE: Take what your classmate(s) said and bounce an idea off of it. For example, you can start your sentences with- “That reminds me of…” “I agree, because…” “True. Another example is when…” “That’s a great point…”

Rephrase what was just said in a shorter version. For example, you can start your sentences with- “I hear you saying that…” “So, if I understand you correctly…” “I like how you said…”

Understand what your classmates mean by asking them questions. For example, you can start your questions with- “Can you tell me more about that?” “I’m not sure I understand…” “Have you thought about…?”

Source: From Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner, Himmele 2011, ASCD

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY WORDS

New Words Quick-Write Definition Symbol or Picture


Name: _________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

Deconstructing Text: Single to Double Venn

Directions: Step 1: As you process the text independently, write down at least five key ideas, phrases, or words in the single Venn (top).

Step 2: Pair up with a classmate. Take turns sharing items from your single Venn. Compare your answers using the “double

Venn” to show what items you had in common and what items were different.

YOU PARTNER


Name: __________________________________________ Date: ________________ Period: ______

S–O–S Summary

STATEMENT (provided by teacher):

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Restate in your own words:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

OPINION (check one): I agree I disagree SUPPORT YOUR OPINION WITH EVIDENCE (facts, examples…)

●

●

●

Grade 8 English Module 2 - West Contra Costa Unified ... · PDF fileGrade 8 English Module 2...

Documents

Transcript of Grade 8 English Module 2 - West Contra Costa Unified ... · PDF fileGrade 8 English Module 2...