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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014 Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution

UnitFour—LearningThroughReading:TheAmericanRevolution January(Level3ReadingBenchmark:R/S)

Inthisunitstudentsseethattheycanreadtolearnandthattheycanundertakeinquirythroughreading.Atitsheart,thisunitisabouthelpingstudentsreadwithpurpose,decidingwhatinformationismostimportanttoholdontoandhowtoorganizethatinformation,comparingandcontrastinginformationfromdifferenttextsandfinally,decidinghowtosynthesizetheirlearningtoteachothers.ThespineoftheunitisalignedtoVolumeIIofNavigatingNonfictionfromtheUnitsofStudyforTeachingReading,Grades3‐5byLucyCalkinsandKathleenTolan.Youwillseewehaverevisedtheunittobeexactlyalignedtograde‐specificexpectationsoftheCommonCoreandtofocusonspecificfourthgradesocialstudiescontent.(Theunitiswritteninsuchawaythatyoucouldalterthesocialstudiescontent,switchinginadifferenttopic‐‐butindoingso,muchofthespecificityofthisunitwouldbelost.)ThisunithasbeendevelopedinconjunctionwiththeTCRWPwritingcalendarofunitsaswellastheTCRWPcontentareacalendarofunits.Wewanttounpacktheseconnectionssothatyougetasenseofhowthethreeworkincombinationwithoneanother.Inthethirdunitofthecontentareacalendar,aroundmidDecember,studentsbeganstudyingtheAmericanRevolution.Thus,asthisreadingunitstarts,studentshavebeenstudyingtheAmericanRevolutionforabouttwoweeksorsointhecontentarea.Weexpect,then,thattheywillhavealreadygottenabroadunderstandingofsomeofthebasicinformationoftheAmericanRevolution(thecauses,forexample,andsomeofthekeyturningpoints).Nowinthisunit,theywillbuildonthatgeneralknowledgeandbegintostudyparticularaspects(relatedsub‐topics)oftheAmericanRevolutioninmoredepth.Atthesametimeasthisreadingunitstarts,studentswillbeginthewritingworkshopunitinwhichtheywillwriteresearchreportsontheAmericanRevolution(aunitbasedonthenewUnitsofStudyBookBringingHistorytoLife,Grade4byLucyCalkinsandAnnaGratzCockerille).Inthefirstbendofthatunit,studentswillwriteabouttheAmericanRevolutioninbroadstrokes,drawingontheirlearningfromthecontentareawork.Thenasthatwritingunitmoveson,studentswillwriteaboutsubtopicsrelatingtotheAmericanRevolution‐‐likely,thesameonestheywillhavebeenstudyinginreadingworkshopduringthisunit.Thus,eachofthethreeunitsrelyonandbuildoneachother.Thegoalisforstudentstotransferandapplytheirlearningfromonesubjecttoanotherseamlessly.

Welcome to the Unit


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Studentscometothisunitwiththeirpreviouslearninginreadinginformationaltexts.Intheunitbeforethisone,theydevouredhighinterestnonfiction,buildingnonfictionreadinglives,andworkedtostayclosetothetextthroughsummarizingandpayingattentiontotheunderlyingstructuresoftexts.Studentsworkedtosynthesizetheirlearningacrosspagesandacrossbooksandtogrowideas.Inthisunit,then,theywillbuildonandextendthatpriorlearningaboutreadinginformationaltextsastheyengageinreadingnonfictionaboutaparticulartopic(inthiscase,aboutdifferentaspectsoftheAmericanRevolution.)

InBendOneofthisunitstudentswillformresearchteamsonsub‐topicsofinteresttothemrelatedtotheAmericanRevolution,andthey’llsetforthonaninquiry.Theywillsurveytheirmaterials,learningtoreadeasiermaterialsfirsttobuildbackgroundknowledgeandgainvocabulary.Asstudentsusewhattheyhavelearnedofnote‐takingstrategies,theywillholdontoandorganizeinformationandteachotherswhattheyarelearning.AfteraweekorsoofstudyingoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolution,studentswillmovetostudyingadifferentaspect.InBendTwo,abendintendedtobequickerandshorterthanBendOne,studentswilltakeonstudyingasecondaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionwithgreaterindependence.Theywilltransferandapplyallthattheyhavelearnedinthefirstbendasyouteach,raisingtheleveloftheirresearchandnote‐takingwork.Theywillalsoapplywhattheyhavelearnedfromthewritingworkshoptotheirreading,forexample,

Overview

EssentialQuestion:HowcanIuseeverythingIknowaboutresearchtolearnallIcanaboutoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolution?

BendI:LearningaboutAnAspectoftheAmericanRevolutionthroughReading

HowcanIorganizemylearninglifesoIcanresearchtolearn,synthesizeacrosstextsandteachotherswhatIamlearning?(approx.1week)

BendII:ResearchingaDifferentAspectoftheAmericanRevolutionHowcanItransferandapplywhatIhavejustlearnedaboutresearchinginordertotakeonanewresearchventure,thistimewithmoreindependence? (approx.1weekorless)

BendIII:RereadingCriticallyandDesigningaProjecttoTeachOthersHowcanIbegintolookathowdifferentauthorspresentdifferentinformation,includingnoticingthefactsandperspectivestheyincludeorexclude?HowcanIthinkabouthowanauthor’streatmentofthesubjectswaysreaders’thinkingabouttopics?(approx.1.5‐2weeks)


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noticingwaysinwhichauthorspopouttheirmainideasbyelaboratinguponthem,byusingquotations,andbyhighlightingdetailsthatpromoteideastheybelieveareimportant.Attheendofthisbendstudentswillengageinmini‐presentationstoteachotherswhattheyarelearningaboutthisnewsubtopic.InBendThreeoftheunit,youwillchargestudentstoraisetheleveloftheirworktonewheights.YouwillletthemknowthattheywillnowchooseoneoftheaspectsrelatedtotheAmericanRevolutiontheyhavestudiedsofartodoamoreindepthcriticalstudy.AstheydecidewhatismostimportanttoknowabouttheparticularaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionthattheyarestudying,theywillcometoseethatdifferentauthorshavechosentopresentinformationinsimilaranddifferentways.Youwillsupporttheminlookingmorecloselyathowauthorspresentinformation,includinghelpingstudentstoseehowthepointofviewthatanauthortakesonatopicinfluenceshowinformationispresented.Studentswillconsiderwhenviewsaremoreandlessnuancedandrereadmorecritically.Studentscanusetheirlearningtodevelopmorepagesfortheirinformationalbooksinwritingworkshop.

Thisunitaddressesmultiplestandards.Thereareafewwewanttoespeciallyhighlight.Asstudentswillbestrengtheningtheirskillsatcomparingandcontrasting,examininghowdifferentauthors’pointsofviewinfluencehowinformationispresented,theywillbeaddressingStandard4.6.Studentswillalsobeconsideringtherelationshipsofevents,includingtheircausesandconsequences,whichisexpectedbyStandard4.3.Throughouttheunit,studentswillbeworkingtogroundtheirideasintext‐basedevidence,referringexplicitlytoexamplesanddetailsinthetext,asexpectedbyStandard4.1,andthey’llbeintegratingdifferenttextstospeakandwriteaboutatopic,asexpectedbyStandard4.9.Inaddition,thisunitalsoaddressesResearchingtoBuildKnowledgeStandards.StudentswillbeconductingshortresearchprojectstoresearchdifferentaspectsrelatingtotheAmericanRevolutiontobuildtheirknowledgeofthattopic(Standard4.7).Also,theywillalsobetakingnotesfrommultiplesourcesandcategorizinginformation,allthewhilekeepingtrackoftheirsources,whichStandard4.8expects.

CCSS/LS Standards Addressed in this Unit


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Hereisthebasicprepworkneededforthisunit:

Ifyouhaveit,studyVolumeIIofNavigatingNonfiction,fromtheUnitsofStudyforTeachingReading3‐5series‐‐thatisthespineofthisunit.Also,ifyouhaveit,studyBringingHistorytoLifeinthenewUnitsofStudyforTeachingWriting,Grade4series,asthatunitcanserveasyourconcurrentwritingworkshop.Also,you’llwanttostudytheunitfromthecontentareacalendarfor4thgradeonteachingtheAmericanRevolution,asitcanserveasyoursocialstudiesworkduringthistime.

EnsurestudentshaveatleastabasicorientationtotheAmericanRevolutionpriortolaunchingthis

GatherResources(Includingtextsstudentscanread)ondifferentaspectsoftheAmericanRevolution

Formresearchteamspriortothestartoftheunit Choosereadaloud(s)

StudythethreeunitsontheRevolutionaryWar(Reading,WritingandSocialStudies)andnotehowthethreeunitsworktogetherAsmentionedabove,thisstudyoftheAmericanRevolutionhasbeendesignedtounitethreesubjectareasinyourcurriculum‐‐butitcanalsobeself‐standing,aslongasyourclasshadalreadystudiedthetopic(theAmericanRevolution)foratleasttwoweekspriortothisunit’sstart.Theunitsinreading,writingandthecontentareashavebeendevelopedinconjunctionwitheachotherandarestrengthenedbyarelianceoneachother.FamiliarizeyourselfwiththeBringingHistorytoLifefromthenewUnitsofStudyinOpinion,InformationandNarrativeWriting,aswellaswiththecontentareacalendarsothatyoutakefulladvantageoftheopportunitiesforinterdisciplinarywork.EnsureStudentsHaveatLeastaBasicOrientationtotheAmericanRevolutionThisunithasbeendesignedtoworkhandinhandwiththeunitontheAmericanRevolutionhappeninginthecontentarea‐‐butthereallyessentialthingisthatyourstudentsentertheunitalreadyknowingsomethingabouttheAmericanRevolution.We’vepurposefullytimedthisunitsothatstudentshaveanorientationtotheRevolutionandthewholeclasshasatleastsomecommonknowledge.

Getting Ready


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GatherResourcesonDifferentAspectsRelatingtotheAmericanRevolutionYouwillneedtogatherbooksthatyourstudentscanreadandothermaterialsontheAmericanRevolution(presumably,youalreadyhavequiteabitgatheredforthecontentareawork).Inthecontentareas,studentswillhopefullyhavebeenstudyingvideoclipsandmaps,listsofstatistics,images,andsoon.Theycanbringallofthethinkingandnote‐takingtheyhavedonearoundthosetextstobearontheirnewwork,buttheprimarythingyouwantthemtodointhereadingworkshopistoread.Thatis,theyshouldbereadingbooks,articles(digitalorprint),bookchapters,etc.Studentswillnottendtoreadentirebooksfromcovertocoverbutinstead,theywillpursueasubtopicacrossacollectionofbooks.Thatis,anygivenstudentwillbeapttoreadonechapterofonebookandthenmovetoanotherchapterinanotherbook,followingasubtopicthatthestudentisresearching(saytheDeclarationofIndependence).Althoughstudentswillreadtextsotherthanbooks,becausethisisthereadingworkshopyouwillprobablyemphasizethatduringthistime,studentsneedtomarshaltheirattentionforextendedreading.Itcan’tbethenormforastudenttoporeoverafewphotographsforanentirereadingworkshopsincethenthatstudent’svolumeofreadingwillbegintoslip.Thevalueofasimultaneoussocialstudiesunitisthatstudentswillhaveatimeandplace,elsewhereintheday,tolearnfromfilm,video,photography,maps,thestudyofartifactsandthelike‐‐allvaluableformsofresearch.FormResearchTeamsPriortotheUnitStartingInthedaysleadingupthisunit,youmighttalkuptheteamworkaspectofit,lettingstudentsknowthattheyareabouttoembarkonanexcitingresearchprojectandthatwillhavetheopportunitytoworkinteams.Beforetheunit,youmaywanttoposttopicsofinterestandletstudentsbegintochoosewhichonetheywanttoresearch.Someteachersletstudentspicktheirtopthreechoicesandthenmakeafinaldecisionforthem,doingtheirbesttotakestudentinterestsintoaccount.Thepointisthatyoumightneedtoengageinalittlebehindthescenesengineeringbeforeteamslaunch.Thesesuggestionsforpossibletopicsofinquirymightworkforyourclassandwilldirectlyalignwithandsupportthesub‐topicsmentionedinBringingHistorytoLife:

TheBostonMassacreTheBostonTeaPartyTheMidnightRideTheDeclarationofIndependenceTheContinentalCongressTheBattlesofLexingtonandConcordTheBattleofTrenton


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WomenintheRevolutionSpiesoftheRevolutionNativeAmericansintheRevolution

Ofcourse,yourlistmaylooklongerand/ordifferent.Theimportantpartistohavetheresourcestosupportinquiriesonthistopic.Ideally,you’llwantyourstudentstobetakingnotesononlyonesideofthepapersotheycanscissorapartandcategorizewhattheyhavelearned.Someteachershavestapledloose‐leafpapertogethertomakeshortresearchbookletsforstudents.ChooseReadAloud(s)You’llwantyourreadaloudstomirrortheworkyourstudentsaredoingsoyou’llwanttochooseafewtextsaboutoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionforyourfirstbendandafewtextsaboutasecondaspectduringthesecondbend.Thatis,werecommendyoupursueawhole‐classinquiryyourselfinordertodemonstratetostudentshowtoreadacrossbooks.Inatleastthefirstbendoftheunit,wesuggestthatyoumightreadabouttheBostonMassacresincethistopicbecomesthefocusoftheteacher’sdemonstrationtextinthesecondbendofthewritingworkshopunitwesuggest.WesuggestthatyoumightreadfromTheRevolutionaryWarbyJoshGregoryfromScholastic’sCornerstonesofFreedomseries.ItisaguidedreadinglevelS,anditsLexileis800L,soanyonewhoisconcernedwithLexilelevelswillbesatisfied.Tomodelthekindofworkthestudentsaredoing,wesuggestthatyoudon’treadthetextcovertocover.Insteadyoucanshowstudentshowyouarepurposefullychoosingsectionsfromthetextthatyouwanttostudy,sectionsthatcanhelpyoulearnaboutthespecificaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionthatisyourfocus(inthiscase,theBostonMassacre).Readaboutyourinquirytopicinafewbooks.WealsorecommendLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPenner(780L/GuidedReadingLevelS).You’llseethattheauthorworkstogetthereadertofeelsomesympathyforBritishtroopswhileotherauthorsdonotwanttoengenderthatsamesympathy.GeorgeVersusGeorge:TheAmericanRevolutionasSeenFromBothSidesbySchanzer(1120L/GuidedReadingLevelT)andGiveMeLiberty:TheStoryoftheDeclarationofIndependencebyRussellFreedman(1070L/NoGuidedReadingLevel)arebothwell‐withintheLexilelevelexpectedatthegradebandandwesuggestthatyoumightreadexcerptsfromthesebooksaswell.Youwillseehowwehaveincorporatedsectionsofthemintotheteachingoftheunit.Duringthesecondpartoftheunit,whentheclasswillstudyyetanotheraspectoftheAmericanRevolution,youmightchooseanotheraspecttoreadabout,lookingperhapsattheMidnightRideofPaulRevere.Manyofthesametextsthatyoureadinthefirstbendcanbeusedduringreadaloudandclosereadingsessionsinthesecondbendasyouwillfocus


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ondifferentsectionsofthetext.Inaddition,youmaywanttomodellookingatsomeprimarysources;youmightusedocumentswhichshowtheBritishweregivenorderstoattack.ThepicturebookTheMidnightRideofPaulReverewhichpresentsthefamouspoembyHenryWadsworthLongfellowalsoincludesprimarydocumentsrelatedtotheMidnightRide.YoumightalsoreadexcerptsfromRevere’sownfirsthandaccountoftheMidnightRide,whichcanbefoundatthefollowinglink:http://ahp.gatech.edu/midnight_ride_1775.html.Thistextcanbequiteengagingwhenpresentedasareadaloudorasharedreading,asitcontainsagreatdealofdramaticaction.

You’llneedtodecidewhatyouwanttoassessinthisunit.Presumably,you’llcontinuetotrackstudents’progressupthegradientoftextdifficulty,soyouwillcontinuetogivestudentsrunningrecords,checkingforindicationsthattheyarereadytomoveuplevelsoftextdifficulty.Youneedtohaveaneyeforapproximatelyhowmanylevelsyouhopeparticularstudentsareapttoprogressthroughwhileinyourcare.Thosewhoenteredfourthgradereadingbelowthebenchmarklevelsforyourgradewillhopefullyprogressupsomethinglikesixlevelswithinthisyear,andotherswillprogressupmorelikefourlevels.OnepossibilityforyourformativeassessmentistogiveoneoftheTCRWP’sinformalassessmentsininformationalreadingalignedtoinformationalreadingstandards1,2,4,5,6,8,and9ontheCCSS(dependingonquestionsaskedduringtheassessment).TheseareavailabletoschoolswhoworkwiththeProjectclosely.Theseassessmentsallowforstudentstoreadtextsindependently,then,afterreadingindependently,theassessmentinvolvesthemineachansweringquestionsdesignedtoaddressparticularstandardsintheCCSS.Theimportantthingabouttheseassessmentsisthattheyalsoenableteacherstoassessstudents’abilitiestoaddressgrade‐specificstandardsevenifthestudentreadsatalevelwhichisconsideredbelowgrade‐level.YoucanthenusetheInformationalReadingLearningProgressiontotrackstudents’progressonskillsthatareimportanttotheCCSS.IfyougavetheTCRWP’sPerformanceAssessmentinNonfictionReadingandOpinionWritingpriortothestartofyourfirstnonfictionreadingunitearlierthisyear,likelyyou’llwanttoagaingivethatassessment(oranadaptedversionofit)attheendofthisunit.

Assessment


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Themaingoalofthisbendistosupportstudentsintakingonaresearchprojectforthemselves,takingnotes,organizinginformationandpayingattentiontowhendifferentsourcesgiveconflictinginformation.Tostartthisworkoff,then,onthefirstdayoftheunit,youmightgatherstudentsinthemeetingareaandaskthemtositwiththeirteams.You’llwanttoissueagenerousinvitation,welcomingstudentsintotheworthyworkofresearch.Youmightsaysomethinglike,“You’vebeenworkingtogetabigpictureoftheAmericanRevolutionoverthepastfewweeks.So,youknowsomebasicsaboutit‐‐likesomeofthemajorcausesandsomeofthepivotalturningpoints.Andthat’saprettygoodstart,butit’sonlyastart.Toreallytrytounderstandanytopic,youhavetodigdeep,right?Youcan’treallydigdeepinatopicasHUGEasthewholeAmericanRevolution!”(HereyoumightspreadyourarmswidetodemonstratehowvastofatopictheRevolutionis).“Researchers,insteadoftryingtogettheirarmsaroundHUGEtopics,oftentrytobecomeexpertsonapartoraspectofthehugetopic,inthiscaseoftheAmericanRevolution.Thentheybecomeexpertsenoughtoteachothersaboutthesubtopicthey’vestudied.Afewdaysago,IaskedyoutochooseanaspectoftheRevolutionthatyouwantedtostudymoreandyougotintoteams.You’resittinginthoseteamsnowandtodayisthedayyougetstarteddiggingdeep,workingwithyourteamtolearnasmuchasyoucanaboutyoursub‐topicsoyourteamcanteachothersaboutit.”Afteraconnectionlikethat,youcouldnameyourfirstteachingpoint:“SotodayIwanttoteachyouthatwhenreadersgetstartedonaresearchproject,theyfigureouthowtogetthemselvessetuptoreadinginwaysthatletthemlearnalltheycanabouttheirtopic.Onewaytheydothatisbygettingalayofthelandoftheirtextsandmakingaplanforwhattoread.”Thenyoumightdemonstratethisworktostudentsbyusingthetopicthatwillbecometheclassresearchtopic.Wesuggestthatyoumightengineerthingssothatthetopicthewholeclassstudies(theBostonMassacre,forexample)isalsothetopicthatreaderswhoneedmoresupportalsoresearch.Thatway,yourdemonstrationcanscaffoldtheirwork.Onthisfirstdayofyourreadingunit,youmightlayoutthetextsyouhavegatheredfortheclassdemonstrationsetandshowstudentshowyoutakeabroadsurveyofthem.“SoI’vedecidedthatweasaclassmightstudytheBostonMassacresolet’slookthroughthesebookstodecidewhatpartsweshouldreadthatwillhelpuslearnmoreaboutthatevent.”YoumightleafthroughafewofthebooksandthenputatableofcontentsupfromLiberty!HowtheRevolutionaryWar

BendI:LearningaboutAnAspectoftheAmericanRevolutionThroughReading

“SotodayIwanttoteachyouthatwhenreadersgetstartedona

researchproject,theyfigureouthowtogetthemselvessetuptoreadinginwaysthatletthemlearnalltheycanabouttheirtopic.Onewaytheydothatisbygettingalayofthelandoftheirtextsandmakingaplanforwhat

toread.”


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Began.onthedocumentcamera.“Hmmm..seehere,howoneofthechaptersinthetableofcontentsis“TheBostonMassacre”?Thisbookmakesiteasytofindasectionwecanuseforourresearch.Let’stryanother.”Then,putupthetableofcontentsfromTheRevolutionaryWarbyJoshGregory.“Thisbookdoesn’thaveachapterthatmakesitsoeasyforus.Idon’tthinkitwouldbeinchapterone,‘ANewStartinAmerica.’butchaptertwo,‘SeedsofRebellion’isapossibility.YoumightfliptothatchapterandskimabittoconfirmthatthissectioncontainsinformationabouttheBostonMassacre.“Yes,here’sasubheading,‘TheBostonMassacre.’Itdefinitelywillhaveinformationwecanuse.Thatfeelslikeitwillbereallyimportantforustoreadaspartofourclassstudyonthatsubtopic.Maybeweshouldevenstartwritingdownsomebooktitlesandpagenumberssowehaveaplanforwhattoread.”Afteryoumodelthisforabitlonger,youmightgiveeachclubthechancetodosimilarworkontherugwiththeirsubtopics,leafingthroughthebooksandarticlesintheirbinsinordertoplanwhattoread.Youmightkeepstudentsontherugforabitlongerduringthislessonthanusual(besuretoexplainthatyouaredoingthis)sothatyoucanensureeachteamisgettingitselfreadiedforastrongstart.Afteryoulisteninandcoachteams,youmightcallstudentsbackandhighlightsomeofwhatyouheard.Youmightemphasizethatreadersaremakingplansforwhattoreadsothattheylearnthemosttheycanabouttheirtopics.Aspartofthat,they’relookingfortextsthatwillbeeasyforthemtoread,knowingthatafterreadingtheeasiertexts,they’llbemoreabletotackletheharderones.YoumightpickupLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerandshowstudents.“Thisoneseemsabiteasierthantheothers,somaybeI’llstartwiththat.ThatwayIthinkIcangetsomebasicbackgroundandmaybelearnsomeofthevocabulary.ThenI’llmovetosomeoftheharderbooks.”Youcansendreadersofftobeginthiswork.(SessionXIIIofNavigatingNonfictioncanalsoprovideadditionalsupportforhowtodemonstrategettingthelayofthelandofatextset.)Asreadersformintotheirteams,theywillhavealreadymadesomedecisions,soyoucanexpectthemtostartmovingimmediatelyintoreading.You’llwanttowatchhowstudentsgetthemselvesstartedandhowtheyholdontoinformationtheyarelearning.You’llexpecttoseethemusingwhattheyknowofnote‐takingstrategiesfrompreviouscontentareaandinformationalreadingunits.Rememberthattheywillprobablylikelydonearesearchprojectbefore,whentheywereinthirdgrade.Theyshouldbeaccustomedtolookingthroughtexts,layingoutaplanforresearch,andforgettingthemselvesstarted.You’llwanttotakesometimetowatchthemworkingandconsideringwhattheyareholdingontofrompreviousunitsandyears.Aretheygettingthemselvesstarted,creatingaplanforreadingandthenchoosingwhatseemslikeslightlyeasierandperhapsbroadertextsfirst?Dotheyautomaticallysetuptheirnotebooksfornotetaking?Dotheyjotthetitleandauthorofthebooktheyarereading?Thisisallpreviouslearningandifyoudon’tseeithappening,you’llwanttocoachintothisworkrightaway.Aseriesofwholeclassvoiceoversandtable


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complimentswillgoalongwayforhelpingyoutouchbasewithasmanymembersoftheclassaspossiblewhileensuringthatallaregettingstarted.Soyoumightforinstance,voiceoverwhatyouseestudentsdoingwellthatcanhelptherest:“Oh,IlovethatMagdalenaalreadyhassomenotesinhernotebook!”youmightannouncetotheclass.“Lookathergo.She’slistinginformationshe’salreadylearnedabouttheBostonTeaPartyfromoursocialstudieswork.Fabulous!IhopeeveryonehereisalsothinkingabouthowwhatyouhavealreadylearnedabouttheAmericanRevolutionmightbeuseful!”“Wow‐‐Ralphhasaveryefficientsystemforplanninghisreading,”youmightsharealittlelater.“He’smarkeddifferentpagesofbookshewantstoreadandnumberedtheorder.He’sreallysethimselfupforsuccess.Ihopethattherestofyouhavebeenthinkingaboutthebestwaytosetupaplanforyourself.”Youmightalsocomplimentachildatatable,makingsuretherestofthemembersofthetablearewithinearshot.“IlovethatIseeyoulookingbackatthetimelinewemadeinsocialstudies.Ihopethateveryoneisalsothinkingaboutresourcesweusedinsocialstudiesthatcanhelpwiththisnewwork!”Youcanalsopulluptoastudentwhoseemstobedoingsomethingwellatatableandcomplimentthestudent,makingsuretheothersatthetablearewellwithinearshot.Inthisway,you’llhelpallofthestudentsgetontrackandstartworking.Inwhatislikelytobetheshareonthefirstday,you’llwanttohelpallofthestudentsrecalltheirpreviouslearningabouttheAmericanRevolutionandremindthemthatallofthatlearningtheydidinsocialstudiescanhelpthemwiththisnewwork.YoumightpointtoallofthechartsyouhaveoutabouttheAmericanRevolutionandremindstudentsthatalloftheseresourcescanalsohelpthem.Youmightdemonstratelookingatatimeline:“So,ifIamstudyingabouttheBostonMassacre‐‐IamlookingatthistimelinetoseewhereinthecourseofeventsrelatedtotheAmericanRevolutiontheeventthatIamstudyingfitsin.Wow,soearlyinthetimeline.Oneoftheveryfirstoutbreaksofviolence.Somethingmusthaveledtothisfirstviolence.Hmm...thisismakingmethinkmoreabouttheBostonMassacre’srelationshiptoothereventsonthetimeline.Itseemslikeitwassortofacatalyst‐‐thatmeansitprovokedalotofactionsandchanges.YouknowI’mstartingtothinkthatmaybeI’llneedtodoabitofreadingabouttheeventsthatcamebeforeandaftertheMassacretoreallythinkmoredeeplyaboutitscausesandconsequences.I’mgoingtotrytoreadthesectionsinmybooksthatcomerightbeforetheMassacre,forexample,totrytofigureoutwhatledtoithappening.”Youcangivestudentssometimetothinkabouttheirowntopicsinlightoftheclass’timeline‐‐andthennudgethemtoscantheroomforotherchartsthatcouldhelpthemandtobeginimmediatelyusinganotherresourceaswell.


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Ofcourse,youcouldhaveanentirelydifferentsharesession.Forexample,duringoneshareormid‐workshopyoumightteachyourstudents,“Readersthinkaboutalltheyknowwhentheyarelearningaboutatopic.Ifyouarelearningaboutpenguins,youreviewallyouknowaboutbirdsbecausethatcanhelpyouthinkaboutpenguins.AndifyouarelearningaboutPaulRevere,youthinkofallyouknowabouttheRevolution,becausethatallrelatestoPaulRevere.”Youmight,then,channelchildrentopullouttheirsocialstudiesnotebooksandscanoldnotes,askinghowtocodetheoldnotes(perhapsabouttheRevolutioningeneral)thatarealsorelevanttotheirnewsubtopic.Studentswillfindittobeaheadyandsometimesdauntingendeavortoresearchasubtopicwiththeirsmallgroup.You’llwanttofindwaystohelpthemkeeptheirenergyhighthroughouttheprocess.Soyoumightteachstudents,saying,“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatithelpsforresearcherstothinknotonlyabouttheirtopicbutalsoabouttheirwork,talkingtogetheraboutquestionssuchas,‘Howcanwekeepourenergyhighduringthisprocess?’Studentscanoffersuggestionswhichyoucanchart(youcanseeNavigatingNonfictionVolumeIIforsomeexamplesofchartsabouthowtokeepenergyhighduringresearch)andyoucanletthemgobacktoworkagain.Overthenextfewdays,asstudentsresearchandtakenotes,you’lllikelyseetherearepredictablewaysthatyou’llneedtoteachintothiswork.InEnergizeResearchReadingandWriting,ChrisLehmansaysthatonesuchconcernmightbethatyouseestudentscopyinglargesectionsoftext.Ifthisisthecaseforyourstudents,you’llwanttoteachalessoninwhichyouteachstudentssometipsaboutnote‐taking.“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatresearcherschooseonlywhatseemsmostimportanttojotdown,andtheyjotmostlyintheirownwords,quickly,withoutfullsentences.”Youmightmodelthisbyshowingstudentshowyoureadachunkoftextthenlookupfromthebookandtrytosummarizewhatyoureadbylistingthemajorpoints(Youcanholdupyourhandandlistthepointsonyourfingersasamodelforstudentstofollow)thencomeupwithaideathosepointssupport.Youmightthenshowstudentshowyouquicklyjotdownwhatyouwroteandthendecideonaheadingforthepointsyouhavelisted.So,youmightremindstudentsthatyouwantedtodosomereadingofthepartsofthebooksthatcamebeforesectionsabouttheBostonMassacretofigureoutwhatledtoithappening.Thenyoumightreadthefirstfewparagraphsofthesection“Lobsterbacks”inPenner’sLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBegan(pgs.12‐13),andmightmodellistingthesemajorpoints:

“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatresearcherschooseonlywhatseemsmostimportanttojotdown,andtheyjotmostlyintheirownwords,quickly,withoutfullsentences.”


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Liberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerp.12‐13

NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston Clothingwasn’tcomfortable‐‐(itchy,hotjackets;pantstootight) Hadtopassinspectioneverydayforappearance(ex.hadtopowderhair

+dipinanimalgrease‐‐smelly!)Ifuniformsnotclean‐‐whipped Paidonly2centsaday Iftriedtodesert‐‐executed Hatedandmadefunofbythecolonists

Youcanthenmodelreadinganotherchunk(inthistext‐‐youcanmodelreadingsomeofthemarginaltextnotesonthesamepage)anddecidingwhetherthemajorpointsforthesesectionsgoalongwiththeotherpointsyouhavelistedorifyouneedanewcategoryofnotes.Thenyoucanofferstudentsachancetotrythisworkwiththerestofthemarginaltextnotes.Youcanalsotalkwithstudentsaboutwhetherornottoincludedetailsthatseemtangentialinyournotes.(Forexample,onthesepages,youmighttalkaboutthedetailthatmarriedredcoatswereallowedtobringtheirfamilieswiththemandthatthewomennursedsicksoldiers.Whileinteresting,thisdetaildoesn’tseemtobeasimportanttohelpingyouunderstandhowtheBostonMassacrecameabout.)Asyouwatchstudentsgoofftowork,youmayalsoneedtoremindthemtoreadovertheirnotestoseeiftheyhaveincludedthenamesofkeypeople,keyplaces,keyevents.You’llalsolikelyseethatyouneedtonudgestudentstocapturenotesusingotherformsthanboxesandbullets.Soinashareormid‐workshop,youmightmodelreadinganothersectionofyourtext(thenextsectionofPenner’stext‐‐TheBostonMassacre‐‐forexample,startingonpage14)anddemonstratethinkingtostudentsabouthowboxesandbulletsdonotseemlikethebestformtotakenotesforthissection.Youmightsaysomethinglike,“Readers,IwasstartingtotakenotesonthenextsectionofthebookI’mreading‐‐thesectioncalled“TheBostonMassacre”‐‐andIwasstartingtolistpointsinmyheadtogrowideaslikeIdidbefore,butthenIrealizedsomething.Irealizedthatthisdoesn’tseemtobethekindofsectionthatissetuplikeboxesandbullets.IthinkIneedtouseadifferenttypeofnotetakingheretohelpmeholdontoinformation.Maybeyoucanhelpme.Willyoulookatthistextcloselyandatthischartofdifferenttypesofnotetakingstructures?Let’srereadthissectionofthetextclosely,andwillyouthinkaboutwhatformofnotetakingImightusetohelpmeholdontotheinformationinthissection.”Youmightthenstartreadingfromthemiddleofpage14,displayingthissectionofthetexttoyourstudents.

“Finally,onMarch5,1770,thesituationexploded.Itwasadarknight,coldandsnowy.AsoldierwasstandingguardinthesentryboxinfrontoftheCustomsHouse.Aboycamealongandbeganshoutinginsultsathim.Thesoldierdashedoutofhisboxandhittheboywithhismusket.Theboyranawaycrying.butsoonhe


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camebackwithhisfriends.Theythrewsnowballsattheguardandscreamed“Lousyrascal!Bloodyback!”

Youcanthengivestudentstimetotalkaboutwhattextstructuremighthelpyoutoholdontothisinformationandthenhighlightsomeofwhatyouhaveheardthemsay.Highlightingwhatyouhave“heard”(evenifyouhaven’texactly‘heard’it)willhelpyoutosteerstudentstowardwhatwilllikelybeahelpfultextstructureinthisinstance.“So,I’mhearingalotofyousayatimelinemighthelpme,”youmightsay.“Thatmakesalotofsensetome.Itseemslikeinformationisbeinggiveninthissectionlikefirstthishappened,thenthis,thenthis.Thispartseemsorganizedusingachronologicaltextstructure,right?Soatimelinecouldhelpmeholdontotheorderofevents.Andthen,whenIreadmorebooksonthistopic,Icouldkeepaddingeventsintomytimelineandevenlookingtoseeifotherauthorsleaveoutsomeoftheevents!”Youcouldalsoraiseanotherpossibilitytosupportstudentsforwhomawrittentimelinemaynotnecessarilybethebestwaytotakenotes.“Now,othersofyouhavesuggestedIcouldhavedoneabunchoflabeledsketches‐‐sortoflikeastoryboard‐‐toholdontowhathappenedandthat’sareallyinterestingideaaswell.I’msurethereareotherpossibilitiesalso,butI’mthinkingI’mgoingtouseatimelinebecausethatfeelsbestforme.Whenyouallgoofftoday,you’llwanttobethinkingabouthowauthorsaredeliveringinformationandwhattypesofnotetakingstructuresfeelbestforyoutoholdontotheinformationfromthatsection.”Ifallofthatseemslikealotofinstructionjustaroundthestructureofnote‐taking,youmaywanttorecallthatonthehighstakesNYStestthisyear,somepremiumwasputonstudentsbeingabletoreadatextandthinkaboutthestructureunderlyingthattext.Thechallengetothinkaboutthebestwaytostructureone’snotesisanauthenticwaytohelpstudentsbecomeaccustomedtoreadingandwritingwithanalertnesstotextstructures.Categorizationisabigpartofstructure,andstudentswillalsolikelyneedhelpcategorizingtheirnotesontheirsubtopics.Youmayseeastudent,forexample,takingdownnotesfromonebookononepagethenmovingtoanotherbookandstartinganewpageforthosenotes.Ifthatisthecase,you’llwanttointerveneandhelpthatreaderseethathe/shecanincorporatenewlearningintooldnotes.(YoumightdemonstratehowyoucanreadasectionontheBostonMassacreandaddnewnotestotheonesyouhavealreadytaken.)Youmightalsohavestudentscuttheirnotesupsotheycanpracticegroupingnotesthatseesimilartogetherandthentapetheseintotheirnotebook(orabooklet).Or,youmightprovideindexcardsandletstudentstakenotesonthesethensortandcategorizethem.


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Tosupportstudentsinsynthesizingtheirlearningrightaway,youcaninvolvetheminteachingotherswhattheyhavelearned,inwhatwilllikelybeyourshareonthesecondorthirddayoftheunit(youcanseetheTeachingShareinSessionXIVofNavigatingNonfiction,startingonpage108forfurthersupportonhowthisworkmightbetaught).Likely,youwillhearduringthissharethatstudentsarenotusingthedomainspecificvocabularytheyareencounteringintheirtexts.Ifthatisthecase,thenyou’llnextwanttoshowstudentsthattheycanusethe“lingoofexperts”whentalkingandwritingabouttheirtopics.(YoucanseeSessionXVinNavigatingNonfictionforfurthersupportinhowtoteachthatlesson.)Youmightcraftateachingpointwhichsoundssomethinglike,“TodayI’mgoingtoteachyouthatwhenyoubecomeanexpertonatopic,itisimportanttobeginusingthetechnicalvocabularyofthatsubject.Evenifyouarejustreallybeginningtolearnaboutasubject,youcanaccelerateyourlearningcurveby‘talkingthetalk’.”AsCalkinsandTolansuggestinthatsession,youmightevenhaveeachteambegintoinventwaystorecordnewtermswhichseemimportanttothetopicandtobegintomakeminiwordwallsorglossariesandkeeptheseinthemiddleoftheirtableswhentheyteacheachother.Youcanalsohelpstudentstoseethatwhilethenamesofpeople,places,andeventsmatter,othertermsmatteraswell.Onewaytoknowatermisimportantisiftheauthorrepeatsit.Youmightshowstudentsthattheycanactuallylifttermsfromthetextandraisetheirwritingandspeakingtonewheightsbytryingtousemoreofthewordsthattheauthorhasused.SoifoneauthorhasrepeatedatermlikediscontentorifafewdifferentauthorshavepointedoutthatthecolonistswerefullofdiscontentorthatBostonhadbecomethecenterofdiscontentwithBritishrule,thenstudentsshouldtrytousetheworddiscontentintheirownspeakingandwriting.Encouragethemtousethetermandthenunpackitandanalyzeitssignificancetowhattheyarelearning.SostudentsmightexplainwhythecolonistswerefullofdiscontentwithBritishruleandwhatresultedfromtheirfeelingthisway.Helpingstudentstoacquireacademicvocabularyisasessentialashelpingthemtoacquiredomainspecificterms.You’llwantthemtonoticeandbegintolifttermslikeinfuriated,blockade,casualty,rebellion,resentment,opposition,import,export,outrage,monarchinadditiontotermslikeLobsterback,Tory,CrispusAttucks,CaptainThomasPreston,JohnAdams,andsoon.Anothersessioninthispartoftheunitwilllikelybeabouthelpingstudentstoseethatnote‐takingcaninvolvenotonlyrecordinginformationbutalsogrowingideas.Tosupportthiswork,youmightremindyourstudentsofthepromptstheyhaveusedtogrowtheir

“TodayI’mgoing toteachyouthatwhenyoubecomeanexpertonatopic,itisimportanttobeginusingthetechnicalvocabularyofthatsubject.Evenifyouarejustreallybeginningtolearnaboutasubject,youcanaccelerateyourlearning

curveby‘talkingthetalk’.”


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thinkinginotherunitsandhelpthemtoseethattheycandothatsameworkhere.Youmightsay,“TodayIwanttoremindyouthatreadersdon’tonlyusewritingtorecordinformation,readersalsowritetogrowideas.Andtodothat,readerssometimesrelyonthesame‘thoughtprompts’astheyusetogrowideaswhentalking.”So,ifyougobacktoyournoteson“NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston,”youmightnowusesomepromptstogrowsomeideasoffthesenotesandshowstudentshowyoumightcreateanewpageforthinking.Youmightwritesomethinglike:

“IusedtothinkthattheBostonMassacrewasalltheBritishsoldiers’fault.Theyaretheoneswhofiredatinnocentcolonists!ButnowI’mstartingtothinkthatmaybeitismorecomplicatedthanthat.MaybethecolonistswerenotasinnocentasIthought.TheyhadbeentauntingtheBritishsoldiersforalongtimeevenbeforethisevent.ThisismakingmewonderifBritishsoldierswereangryabouthavingtobeinBoston.Perhaps,inaway,theBritishsoldierswerejustasfrustratedasthecolonists,butfordifferentreasons.MaybetherewasjustallthisangerinBostonandithadtogosomewhereandonenightthatangerexploded...”

YoucanpointoutthatmaybethisworkhashelpedyoutogoonajourneyofthoughtandhasbeguntohelpyouunderstandsomeofthecausesoftheBostonMassacre.Youmightaskstudentstopushthemselvestothinkaboutdetailstheyhavealreadylearnedandifthesedetailssparkanysurprisingideasorquestionsormighthelpstudentstothinkaboutcausesorconsequencesofpreviousinformation.Asstudentscontinuetowork,youcanpushthemtocontinuetomakethesekindsofkeyconnectionsandgoonjourneysofthoughttocometonewideas.

Somepromptsthatmighthelp: Iusedtothink...butnowIrealize... AtonepointIthought...andnowIthink... Myideasabout...arecomplicated.Onetheonehand,Ithink...Whileonthe

otherhand,Ithink...(YoucanseeSessionXVIofNavigatingNonfictionformorepromptsandideasforteachingalessonaboutwritingtothink.Laterinthatday’sworkshoporinanotherday’sworkshop,youmaywanttoteachyourstudentsparticularhistory‐relatedthoughtpromptsthattheycanalsoaskthemselvesandothers‐‐text‐dependentquestionstheycanaskthemselvestopushthemselvestoconsidercauses,consequences,andtherelationshipsofeventsinhistory.


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Doesthatremindyouofanythingyouhavealreadylearned? Whatmightbearesultof____? Whatmightthatleadto? Whatdoyouthinkcaused____?

Encouragestudentstoconstantlygobacktoresearchfurthertofindtheanswerstothesequestionsandtojotthesequestionsintheirnotes.Thiswork,ofcourse,isespeciallyalignedtotheNewYorkState’sELA.Yourreadaloudwillbeofkeyimportanceduringthispartoftheunit.Youwon’thavetimeduringeachreadingworkshoptodemonstratenote‐takingbutduringyourreadaloudyoucancontinuetoreadsectionsoftheclasstextsetandmodeltakingnotes.Duringthistime,weespeciallyencourageyoutoreadabouteventsleadinguptotheBostonMassacre(sectionsaboutthetaxes,forexample,orsectionsabouthowtheBritishsentsoldierstostayinBoston)andtheconsequencesoftheMassacre(sectionsabouthowtheportofBostonwasclosedorevensectionsontheBostonTeaParty)tosupportstudentsinseeingtherelationshipsofevents,includinghowoneeventcausesanother.(YoumightreadpartsofYouWouldn’tWanttoBeattheBostonTeaPartyandpartsofGiveMeLibertybyFreedman.)Duringyourreadalouds,you’lldemonstrategoingbacktonotesyouhavealreadytakentoincludenewinformation.Showstudentshowyouaddheadingstoyournotestoorganizethem.Youcanalsomodeltakingnotesusingdifferenttextstructures,showingstudentshowyouconsiderwhichstructureofnotetakingwillbesthelpyouholdontotheinformationinasection.Studentswillcontinuouslyseeaexemplarmodelofthisworkwhichcangivethemavisionforwhattheyshouldbedoingintheirteams.Asstudentsarereadingthroughtextsandtakingnotes,youmightteachthemthatonewayreaderssynthesizetheirlearningisbytalkingthrough‐‐andteaching‐‐whattheyarelearningtoothers.Thenyoucanchannelstudentstoteachtheothermembersoftheirgroupwhattheyarelearning.Thisworkcansupportstudents’abilitiestosummarizeandhelpthemtodetermineimportance(rememberthattheInformationalReadingLearningProgressioncanhelpstudentsself‐assessandsetgoalsforthiswork.)Asyoulisten,youmayneedtocoachstudentsintomovingawayfromjustreadingpartsofthetexttoeachother.Itwillhelpimmeasurablyifyougivestudentsafewminutestoplantheirteachingsessionbeforetheyteach,decidingonthemostimportantinformationtosharewithgroupmembersandcollectingwaystoelaborateoneachofthosepoints.Studentscanthenteacheachothersomekeypoints,makingsuretoprovidesupportingevidence,details,andalsotoreflectonthesignificanceoftheircontentbydevelopinganideaortwoaboutthatinformation.Aspartofthisyoucanteachstudentsthatonewaytodevelopakeypointistoquotefromoneoftheirtextsinwaysthathighlightthekeypoint,orsupportit.Remindthemthatitisimportanttoexplainwhythatquoteseemsimportant.Youcanalso


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encouragethemtomakeconnectionsbetweentheirlearningbyofferingthemsomeconversationprompts:

ThatfitswithwhatI’mlearningbecause... That’sdifferentfromwhatIreadbecause.. Whatyoujustsaidismakingmerealizethat... NowI’mstartingtohaveanewidea... Thisishelpingmetounderstandwhy... Thisconnectstowhatwelearnedinsocialstudiesbecause... Now,I’mwondering...

Studentswillbefillingthepagesoftheirresearchbookletswithinformationandtheirideasandteachingeachotherwhatseemsmostimportanttoknowabouttheirtopics.Asthebendmoveson,you’llwanttonextshowstudentsthatsometimeswhenyoustarttoputpiecesofinformationtogether,someofthosesourcessaydifferentthings.(Studentshavelikelydoneabitofthisworkinthirdgradesoyoumightnowmakeitmorecomplexbyshowingtwocategoriesofyournotesforstudentstocompareandcontrastwithnewinformation.)Todemonstratethis,youmightshowstudentsthepagesaboutBritishsoldiersstationedintheBostonandTheBostonMassacrefromLiberty!HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerthatyouhavebeenreadingduringreadaloud.Youcanremindthemofsomeoftheimportantpointsthattheclasshasdiscussedthisauthorhasmadebyshowingthemtheclassnotes.

NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston Clothingwasn’tcomfortable‐‐(itchy,hotjackets;pantstootight) Hadtopassinspectioneverydayforappearance(ex.hadtopowderhair+dipin

animalgrease‐‐smelly!)Ifuniformsnotclean‐‐whipped Paidonly2centsaday Iftriedtodesert‐‐executed Hatedandmadefunofbythecolonists


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March5,1770:ThenightoftheBostonMassacre__|________________________________________|________________________|______________________|__________SoldierstandsguardSoldierhitsboy.Crowdstartstogather.Sentrycallsforhelp.infrontofCustomsHouse.Boyrunsaway,comesMeetinghousebelltolls.CaptainJamesBoyinsultshim.backwithfriends‐‐throwSomethinkfire;othersPrescottbrings7snowballsatguardbringguns.soldiers.Tellscrowdandinsult.togohome.

___|_______________________________________|_____________________________________________|_______________________CrowdkeepinsultingSuddenlyashotringsout.Prestonsaysstopfiringsoldiersandthrowrocks.(??)buttheykeepfiring.ThreemenOnemankilled(colonist).deadandtwomendyingattheend.

ThenyoumightputuppartofGeorgeVs.GeorgebySchanzer.Youmighttucksomeinstructiononskimmingandscanninghereasyouletstudentsknowthatactuallythereisnosectioninthisbookcalled“TheBostonMassacre,”butyouknowthereisusuallyinformationaboutthateventinanybookontheAmericanRevolution.YoucanletstudentsknowthatyoulooktofindwherethereisinformationabouttheBostonTeaParty(becausethatisusuallyaprettybig,easytofindsection)andthenstartedtoskimthepartsinthebookrightbeforethatbecauseusuallythosetwoeventsarewrittenaboutprettyclosetogetherinmostbooks.YoumightalsoaskstudentstonoticehowinterestingitisthatthereisonlyonesmallparagraphinthisbookontheeventwhileinotherbooksitisanentiresectionorchapterandhypothesizethatmaybethismightbethecasebecausethebookfocusesonGeorgeWashingtonandKingGeorgeandneitherwassignificantlyinvolvedintheBostonMassacre.Youcanputuppage22ofthetextonthedocumentcameraandengagetheclassinclosereadingofjustthefirstparagraph,askingstudentswhatnewinformationorwhatconflictinginformationtheyhavegainedfromthistextthattheothertextdidnotsay.Studentsmightnotice,forexample,thatthisparagraphofGeorgeVs.GeorgetellsthereaderthatBritishsoldierscausedtroubleinBostonwhenevertheywentoffduty‐‐stealing,gettingdrunkandsoon.Youmightgivestudentsasecondactiveinvolvementbyreadingthesecondparagraphandthenlettingthemtalkagain.Thistime,theymightnoticethatthewaytheeventsoftheBostonMassacrearelaidoutinthebookdoesnotexactlyaligntotheclassnotes.Forexample,thereisnomentionofoneboystartingthetrouble.ThereisnomentionofCaptainJamesPrescotttryingtostopthesoldiers.ThisbooksaystherewasalumpofwoodthrownattheBritishsoldiersbutthereisnomentionofthatinLiberty!.Youcanletstudentsknowwhensomethinglikethishappens,itmakesyourealizethatyou


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wanttogotoathirdsourcetogetabetterunderstandingsinceeachoftheseversionsisdifferent.That’sworkyouwilldolatertoday.Youcanalsoprovidesomepromptsforstudentstohelpthemdomoreofthiscompareandcontrastwork.

Thistextsaysbutthistext(doesnotsay/alsosays)... Thistextconflictswithwhattheothertexthassaidby... Thistextbuildsonwhattheothertexthassaidby...

Studentsmightevengobacktolookatsomeofthetextstheyhavealreadyreadtomorecloselycomparetheinformationtheyprovide.Youcancoachintothisworkbyaskingthemtonoticewhateachauthorhasmademostimportant.“Readers,afteryouhavereadacoupleofsourcesonatopic,itishelpfultocompareandcontrastthosesources,noticinghowthetextsportraythetopicinsimilarways‐‐andhowthetextsaredifferent.Thenyouwillwanttotrytofigureoutwhytheauthorsmayhavemadedifferentcraftdecisions,thinking,‘Doesthisrelatetothedifferentcentralideastheyaretryingtogetacross?’Liberty!seemstomostwantreaderstoknowthattheBritishsoldiershadadifficultlife,forexample,whileGeorgeVs.GeorgeseemstomostwantreaderstoknowthatsoldierscausedtroubleinBoston.Studentsmightaskeachother:

Whatinformationisinthisaccountthatisnotintheotheraccount? Whatmajorpointsiseachotherauthormaking?Whatarethekeydetailseachother

isincluding?Asyourstudentslookfordiscrepanciesorsimilaritiesintheirsources,you’llalsowanttoremindthemthatit’simportanttocontinuetobeabletosummarizeorsynthesizethemajorpointsandidea(s)relatedtoyourtopic.Soyoumightnowshowstudentshowyoudoyourbesttosummarizewhatyouknowonthetopic,acrossallofyourtexts.Wheninformationconflicts,youcanacknowledgethatconflictinyoursummary.Soforexample,yourownsummaryoftheBostonMassacremightincludetheacknowledgementthatnooneisexactlysurehowthefiringstarted.“Thereseemstobesomedisagreementonwhatactuallyhappenedorwhotookthatfirstshot.ButwhatisclearisthatBritishsoldiersfiredintothecrowdandfivecolonistswerekilled.”Asthispartoftheunitheadstoaclose,youmightgivestudentsadaytoconsolidatetheirnotesandprepareapresentationofwhattheyhavelearned.Studentscancutupandputtheirnotestogether,decidinghowtogrouptheinformationthatseemsmostimportant.

“Readers,afteryouhavereadacoupleofsourcesonatopic,itishelpfultocompareandcontrastthosesources,noticinghowthetextsportraythetopicinsimilarways‐‐andhowthetextsare

different.Thenyouwillwanttotrytofigureoutwhytheauthorsmay

havemadedifferentcraftdecisions,thinking,‘Doesthis

relatetothedifferentcentralideastheyaretryingtogetacross?’”


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Theycanteachtheothersintheclasswhattheyhavelearnedabouttheirtopicandyoucanprovidesometimeaftertheseteachingsessionsforstudentstoagainmakeconnectionsbetweenwhattheyhavelearned.

Youwillseethatthisbendisnotunlikethefirstone,thedifferenceliesinthefactthatnowstudentsareaskedtoworkwithgreaterindependenceonasecondsub‐topic.Youofcoursecoulddecidetoelongatethefirstbendinsteadofteachingthissecondbend,ortoencouragesomestudentstocontinuewiththeoriginalsub‐topicwhileothersswitchtoanewone.Ourrationaleforthisbendcame,inpart,frompredictingthatyouwon’thaveenoughbooksthatyourstudentscanreadonanyonesub‐topictobeabletokeeptheminbooksonthatsub‐topicforlong.Hencetheideathatrotatingtopicsmightmakesense.Thisbendshouldbeshorterthanthefirst.You’llexpectstudentstodrawonalltheyhavelearnedandapplyittothisnewworkwithmoreefficiency.Beforelaunchingintothisbend,youwillneedtodecideonanewsubtopicthatyouwillbeinvestigatinginyourwholeclassminilessonsalthoughyoucoulddecidethateventhoughthestudentsaremovingtoanewtopic,you’llcontinuetostudytheclasstopicfrombendone.Ifyouaremovingtoanewtopic,youmaychoosetheMidnightRide,astherearesomegoodresourcesonthattopic.Inadditiontothetextsmentionedearlier,JeanFritz’sbookAndThenWhatHappenedPaulRevere?givesaniceoverview.So,onthefirstdayofthisbend,youwillwanttoletchildreninonthebigworkofthispartoftheunit.“Inthefirstpartoftheunit,Ibasicallytookyoustepbystepthroughtheresearchprocess,”youcantellstudents.“ButtodayIwanttoteachyouthatreadersneedtobeabletoorganizetheirownresearchprojects,tobetheirownjobcaptainsfortheirlearning.”Bytheendofthatminilesson,youcansendstudentsofftobeginusingeverythingtheyhavelearnedaboutreadingandresearchtoread‐to‐learnaboutasecondaspectoftheAmericanRevolution.Youmightsay,“AllIcantellyouisthatyouhavefourdaystolearnallyoucanaboutthissecondsub‐topic,andbythenyoumustbepreparedtoteachothersaboutwhatyouhavelearned.”Studentswillprobablymoveoffwithhighenergyandenthusiasm.Onewaytosupportthosewhomayneedthemostscaffoldingistoletthemre‐studythesameaspectoftheAmericanRevolutiontheyhavejuststudiedbutthistime,readingslightlymorecomplextextsthantheyreadlasttime.Themajorworkofthisbendwilloccurinsmallgroupsas

BendII:ResearchingaDifferentAspectoftheAmericanRevolution

“ButtodayIwanttoteachyouthatreadersneedtobeabletoorganizetheirownresearchprojects,tobetheirownjobcaptainsfortheir

learning.”


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youcoachstudentspastproblemsyounoticedduringthelastbendandsteerthemtoconsiderresourcesthatyouknowwillbehelpful.Earlyinthisbend,tosupporttheirwork,youmightsay,“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatwheneverresearchersembarkonanewproject,theyoftenfindithelpfultomakeaWorkPlan.Theworkplanoverviewswhattheresearcher(s)plantodo,andhowtheyplantodoit.”Thegoodnewsisthatthisteachingwillparalleltheteachingtheyaregettinginwritingworkshopastheylaunchintoanewwritingprojectwithgreaterindependence.ThenyoumightletstudentsthinkoveralltheyknowaboutreadingandresearchtothinkaboutwhatthestepsontheirWorkPlanmightbe.Thenyoucanjotyourownandletstudentsdiscussifthisissimilarordifferenttowhattheywereplanning.SoyoumightcreateaWorkPlanwhichlookssomethinglikethis:

____Lookoverthetexts,decidewhatpartstoreadtogetsomebasicbackground____Readtheeasiertextsfirst____Takenotesonwhatseemsmostimportant(thinkaboutwhatstructure(s)isbest)____Makecategoriesofmynotes____TeachmyteamwhatI’mlearningsofar

Youmightalsotypeupyourownworkplanandmakecopiesofitavailabletostudentswhomightwantthatfurthersupport.Asstudentswork,you’llwanttocheckinwithreaderstoseeiftheyareapplyingpreviouslearning.Forexample,ifyoupulledagroupofstudentslasttimetohelpthemtonoticerepeatingvocabularytermsandusetheseintheirnotesandteachingsessions,you’llwanttoseethemnowactivelyworkingtoacquireandusenewvocabulary.Forthosestudentswhowereonlycopyingthetext,you’llwanttoseethemreadingforabitoftimethensettingthebookdownandgivingthemselvesamomenttothinkaboutwhatseemedimportantbeforetakingnotes.Atwhatisprobablytheshareonthefirstday,youmightaskstudentstotalkaboutwhatresourcesandchartstheythinkwillbemosthelpfultotheminthisnewpartoftheunit.Rememberthatemphasizingusingchartsandresourcesisaveryconcretewaytoemphasizetheimportanceoftransferringknowledgeacrossthecurriculum.You’llalsolikelyneedtohelpstudentscontinuetofigureouthowtoorganizetheirlearning‐‐whatcategoriestoincludeintheirnotes‐‐youmightsupplylittlebookletsnowtoletstudentslabelandbegintocollectnoteswithin.


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Asyouwatchstudentstakenotesandteacheachother,youwilllikelyseewaysthatstudentscanmakebetteruseoftheirnotebooks.Youmightsee,forexample,thatstudentsseemtoputtheirnotesasidewhentheybeginteachingothersabouttheirtopics.Ifthisisthecase,you’llwanttohelpstudentsseetheirnotesastoolsthatcanhelpthemteachothers.Youcancoachthemtoquotefromtheirnotesaswellasfromothertextswhentheyteach.Inaddition,studentscanquotefactstheyhavejotteddownandtheirownideasaftertheyhearanotherstudent’steachingsessionandwanttoextendorchallengethatstudents’ideas.Soonestudentmightoffer,“Well,somepeoplewouldsaythatthecolonistswereintheBostonTeaPartywerebrave,butIdon’tagree.Righthereinmynotes,Iwrotethat‘ifthecolonistswerealldisguised,didtheyreallyhavecourage?AndtheyweretryingtogetNativeAmericansintroublebecauseitsaystheyweredressedupasMohawkIndians.That’snotbrave.’SoIdisagreethatthecolonistswerebrave.”Studentscanalsoraisetheirworktonewheightsbyseetheirnotesasalivingdocumentthatcanberevisedandstrengthened.Theycandomorewiththeirnotesthensimplyaddontothem.Hereafewthingsresearchersoftendothatstudentscoulddoaswelltoraisetheleveloftheirnotetakingandtheirthinking:

Researchersareinterestedineachothers’studies.Theysometimesswapnotebooksandtakenotesoneachothers’notes.Thathelpsnotonlythepersonreadingandlearningfromsomeone’snotes,butalsothenote‐taker,becausethenote‐takercannotewhatothersfindinteresting.

Researchersfinditinterestingwhenadifferentresearcherhasdifferentinformationorideasonatopic.Forexample,ifmembersofasmallgroupcomeupwithdifferentreasonsfortheBostonTeaParty,itisinterestingtothinkaboutwhypeople’sreasonsaredifferent.Researchersstopandchallengeotherresearchers.“Righthere,youwrote...I’mjustnotsureaboutthat,becausethatwasn’tmyunderstandingofit.Inmynotes,Iwrote....Let’sgobacktothatsectionoftextandlookatitagaintogether.”Inthisway,bychallengingeachother,researcherscanhelpeachotherreviseinformationthatmaybeinaccurateormisleading,andcanalsothinkaboutwhydifferentsourcesmightincludedifferentinformationonatopic.

Researcherscanalsonoticethatwhenreadingthesamebook,listeningtothesamevideotape,differentthingswillseemimportanttodifferentresearchers.Itishelpfultotalkaboutwhyonepersonoranotherthinkssomethingisespeciallyimportant.


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Asstudentsgainastrongerbackgroundontheirtopics,youmightteachthemthattheywilloftenfindtheycanprogresstohardertexts.“Readers,oncearesearcherhasreadabunchofeasiertextsonatopicandstartedknowingmoreaboutthattopic,itisoftenpossibletoreadandunderstandtextsthatwouldatfirsthaveseemedtoohard.Also,whenreaderstacklehardtextswithanotherperson,sometimestheyhavemoresuccess.”Youmightalsoteachstudentsthatthereareparticularstrategiestheycanusewhentacklinghardertexts.Forexample,showstudentshowrightatthestartofatext,ithelpstoyoupreviewquicklyandthen‐‐evenbeforereadingthetext‐‐totrymakingaquicksummaryofthetext.Thenasyoureadon,whenpartsgetconfusing,itcanhelptopushyourselfpastthem,continuingtosummarizewhatyouareabletoglean,evenifyouknowyouaren’tgraspingeverything.Bychannelingstudentstocontinuetosummarize,youhelpthemholdontothemajorpointsofatext.Toshowstudentshowtodothisyoumightputasupercomplextextonthedocumentcameraandshowstudentshow,evenwhenareaderdoesn’tknoweveryword,thereadercanstillcontinuetosummarizewhatheorshedoesknowandholdontothegistofatext.Thereareotherstrategiesthatsomereadingresearchersrecommendforhelpingstudentstacklecomplextextandyoucantrythemoutandseeiftheyworkforyourstudents.Forexample,somepeoplesuggestthatwhenreadingatextthatisabitoverwhelming,itworkstoreadthefirstandlastlineofeveryparagraph,summarizingwhatyoucanfromjustthoselinesinanefforttofigureoutofmainidea(s)andkeydetailsasyougo.Nomatterwhat,youwillwanttohelpstudentsrecognizewhentheyfeelatextistoohard‐‐whentheystarttofeeloverwhelmedorlosefocus,forexample‐‐andsotheydon’tjustplowalong,butinsteadtrytoaltertheirreading‐‐perhapsusingoneofthestrategieswe’vejustdescribed‐‐sotheyworkhardtoholdontounderstanding.Youcanalsocontinuetodolessonsondealingwithunfamiliartermsandondecoding,insmallgroupsthroughoutthisbendandthroughouttheunit,ifyoufindyourstudentsneedthis.Likely,beforethisbendisover,you’llwanttoteachalessoninwhichyousaysomethinglikethis,“Readers,todayIwanttoteachyouthatresearcherspushthemselvestodrawonalltheyhavelearnedfromanywhereaboutthetopictheyareresearching,andtheyreadacrosstexts,thinking,‘HowarethelessonsIamlearningfromthesedifferenttextsthesameanddifferent?’Youwillwanttochannelyourstudentstorelyonlearningtheyhavebeendoinginthecontentareasandeventobringsomeofthose

“Readers,todayIwanttoteachyouthatresearcherspushthemselvestodrawonalltheyhavelearnedfromanywhereaboutthetopic

theyareresearching,andtheyreadacrosstexts,thinking,‘HowarethelessonsIamlearningfromthesedifferenttextsthesameand

different?’

“Readers,oncearesearcherhasreadabunchofeasiertextsonatopicandstartedknowingmore

aboutthattopic,itisoftenpossibletoreadandunderstandtextsthatwouldatfirsthaveseemedtoohard.Also,whenreaderstacklehardtextswithanotherperson,sometimestheyhavemore

success.”


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resourcesintoreadingworkshoptoenhancetheirresearch.Youcanlaydifferentbitsoftextagainsteachotherandsparknewideas.YoumightlayanetchingoftheBostonMassacremadebyPaulRevereagainstabitoftextandmodelusingsomethoughtprompts.Youmightsayaloud,orwritesomethinglike:

“ThisisshowingtheBritishsoldiersallfiringlikecrazyrightintothecrowdbutthatdoesn’tmatchwiththewaythetextsaidithappened.I’mthinkingPaulReveremadethistogetpeoplemadattheBritish.I’mrealizingthatsometimespeopletakeeventsandmakethemintoturningpoints.PaulRevereandtheotherpatriotswantedtousethiseventtogetcolonistsmadandgetthemtowanttofight.”

Studentscanbegintotryoutjuxtaposingsomepreviouslyreadtextsagainsteachotherandgrowingnewideas.Theycanalsolookbackattheirnotesontheirfirstsubtopicwiththeirnewlearninginmindandannotatetheirnoteswithnewthinking.Asthebendends,studentscanagaintakesometimetoconsolidatetheirnotesandpreparetoteachothers.Youcanteachthembysaying,“Researchersandwritersneedtothink,‘WhatarethemostimportantideathatIwanttoforward?’andtothink,‘HowcanIpopoutthereallybigideas,makingbywritingorsayingmoreaboutthem,maybebyusingtextfeaturestohelpmakethoseideasmoreimportanttopeoplereadingandlisteningtome.’Helpstudenttothinkaboutwhythesub‐topictheyhavefocuseduponseemsinterestingandimportanttothem.Whyshouldpeoplecareaboutthissubtopic?Howdoesitchange/addtoaperson’sunderstandingoftheAmericanRevolution?Studentscanconsidertheessentialquestionsraisedinsocialstudiestothinkabouthowwhattheyhavestudiedhelpsthemtothinkaboutanyofthosequestions:

WhatwerethecausesoftheRevolutionaryWar? Whatweresomeofthecomplexissuespeopleinthecoloniesfacedatthetimeofthe

RevolutionaryWar? WhatweresomeofthedifferentpointsofviewheldatthetimeoftheRevolutionary

War? Howdidthewarchangelifeinthecoloniesforeveryone?

Youmightsetupstudentstojigsawwithmembersofothergroups‐‐teachingeachotherinapanelformatbeforeengaginginconversationabouttheconnectionstheyareseeing.Anotherchoiceistosetupapresentation“station”foreachgroupwheretheycanlayouttheirtexts,notes,andresourcesfromcontentareaworktouseasteachingtools.Students


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cantaketurns“manning”thestationandrotatingthroughotherstations,listeningtopresentationsfromothers.

Bythispointintheunit,studentshavestudiedtwodifferentaspectsoftheAmericanRevolutionandlikelyhaveaprettysolidunderstandingofeachone.InBendThreeyouaregoingtoteachreadersthattheydonotjustreadtolearnbutalsototalkbacktotextsbyaskingquestionsandtryingtoanswerthem‐‐theyreadcriticallyandreadtogrowideas.Youhavesomechoicesforwhatyourstudentscanstudyinthislastpartoftheunit.Oneoptionisthatifyourstudentshavestudiedtwosubtopics,theycannowchooseonetostudymorein‐depth.However,iftheclassisdoingthewritingunitalongsideofthisreadingunit,thenyouwillwantthemtocontinuestudyingthetopic(theaspectoftheAmericanRevolution)onwhichtheyarewritingtheirinformationbooks.Iftheyarewritinginformationalbooksthislastbendinreadingwillalsohelpthemtocontinuetodeveloppageswhichtheycanincludeintheirinformationbooks.Childrenwillbenotonlywritingbutalsotalkingwithpartnersorgroupsthatarestudyingthesamesubtopictodiscuss,debateandgrowideas.Inthepreviousunitonhighinterestnonfiction,studentsworkedtobuildtheoriesandinterpretnonfiction.Now,theywilldrawonwhattheyhavealreadylearnedtobuildtheoriesandinterpretthehistoricaltextstheyarereadingwithgreaterindependence.Thisworkisimportantandoftendifficult,thus,weareprovidingpracticeindoingitacrosstheyear.Studentswillsynthesizetheirthinkingabouttheirbooksandpushthemselvestodevelopbigideasthattheycansupportwithinferencestheyhavemadeearlier.Yourstudents’notebooksandbookswillbeburstingwithjottingsandPost‐its.Youmightwanttobeginwithasessiononpausinginthemidstofreadingtoorganizeone’sthoughts.ChildrenmightsortPost‐itsintopilesthatareaboutoneparticularofthesubtopicstheyhavestudiedsofar.YoumightthenremindyourstudentsthattheycanlookforpatternsandnewideaswithinthisstackofrelatedPost‐its.Youmightsaysomethinglike,“TodayIwanttoremindyouthatwhenreaderslookataseriesofideasaboutabook(orsetofbooks)theycanaskthemselves,‘Whatdothesehaveincommon?Whatisdifferentabouttheseideas?andthentheyusetheanswerstocreateatheory.”OncechildrenhavedevelopedacoupleoftheoriesabouttheirtopicabouttheAmericanRevolution,theycanrevisitearlierpartsofthetextinlightof

BendIII:GrowingIdeas

“TodayIwanttoremindyouthatwhenreaderslookataseriesof

ideasaboutabook(orsetofbooks)theycanaskthemselves,‘Whatdothesehaveincommon?Whatisdifferentabouttheseideas?and

thentheyusetheanswerstocreateatheory.”


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theirtheories.Theycanalsoreadforward,gatheringmoreevidencetosupporttheirtheories,makingindividualtheorycharts.

Youmaywanttodemonstratesortingandbuildingtheoriesbasedonthesenotes.AsyoulookatthesePost‐itstogether,firsthelpstudentstosortthislistfurther,lookingforideasthatgotogether.Then,youcancoachyourstudentstothinkaboutwhatthesecombinedideasareshowingusaboutthetopic.YoucancraftanexampleaboutthetopicoftheAmericanRevolutionthattheclasshasbeenstudying(likely,theBostonMassacre).(Forfurthersupportinhowtocraftsomenotestousetobuildtheoriesyoucanlookbackatthepreviousunitandseethenotesandnewtheoriesaboutwolves.)Ifyourstudentshavestudiedtwosubtopicsacrossthisunit,youcanpushthemfurther(inwhatislikelytobeyourmid‐workshop)byaskingthem,first,totakeoutthePost‐itsthey’vesavedfromtheirresearchoneachoftheirsubtopicsand,next,toreadacrossthese,lookingtogrouplikeideastogether.Theycanalsolookforeithersimilaritiesordifferencesfromsubtopictosubtopic.So,now,theymightbedrawingconclusionsabouthoweachofthesubtopicsweresimilartooneanother(e.g.PatriotsriskedtheirlivesatmanytimesduringtheRevolution)andalsodifferent(TheBostonTeaPartywasanactofviolencejustliketheBostonMassacre,butintheTeaParty,noonedied.)Thiscompareandcontrastworkcanbecomefeedintotheinformationalbooksstudentsarewritinginthewritingworkshop,ifyoudecidetodothat.Studentscanalsobegintoquestionandconsiderwhatlargerlessonseachbookmightbeteachingabouthistoryandpowerandhumannatureandtheeconomyand...).Theycanask,asreadersdo,“WhatlessonsmightthisbookbeteachingnotjustabouttheAmericanRevolutionbutaboutAmericanHistory?”Studentscan,bybuildingontheirinferences,beginthinkingaboutbiglessonsreaderscanlearnfromthetext.Inthis,theywillbeveryclosetostudyingthemes.Nowthattheyhavegraspedsomeofthecontentrelatedtotheirresearchandbeguntogrowideasandbuildtheories,thislastpartoftheunitaimstohelpthemtogobacktosomeofthosesourcesandrereadthem,thistimemorecritically.Studentswillrereadmaterials,butthistimetheywillconsidernotjusttheinformationtheauthorwantedtoteachbutalsotheemotionoropinionaboutthatinformationtheauthorwantedtoconveyandhowtheauthorwentaboutwritingthetextinsuchawayastoevokethosefeelingsorthatopinioninthereader.Meanwhile,ofcourse,studentswillagainbeengaginginalloftheresearchpracticestheyhavealreadylearned,thistimewithgreaterindependence.


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So,astheunitentersitsfinaltwoweeks,you’llwanttogatherstudentsandletthemknowthebigjobaheadofthem:“Rightnowyou’vestudiedtwoaspectsoftheAmericanRevolutionandsoyouknowtwoaspectsprettywell.Butsofaryou’vereallyonlyreadthetextsontheseaspectstolearninformation.WhatIwanttoteachyoutodayisthatreadersdon’tjustthinkabouttheinformationinatext,theyalsofigureoutthepointofviewoftheauthorofthattextandhowhe/shemightbeswayingyoutothinkacertainwayaboutthetopic.”Youmightthenteachstudentsthatonewaytofigureouttheauthor’spointofviewonatopicistolookforplaceswheretheauthor’sopinioniscomingthrough.Youmightshowthemtwosentences:

“ColonistspulleddownthestatueofKingGeorgewhentheDeclarationofIndependencewassigned.”

“Inabold,decisivemove,thecoloniststoredownthestatueofKingGeorgewhentheDeclarationofIndependencewassigned.”

Youcanletstudentsknowthatthefirststatementisafact.TherearerecordstoshowthatcolonistsdidpulldownthestatueofKingGeorge.Thesecondstatementisafact,butitalsoincludessomepartsofanopinion.Itincludesafeelingabouttheevent.Thewordsboldanddecisiveinthesecondsentencearecluestotheauthor’sopinion.Theauthorattributesthecolonistswithwhataretraditionallyconsideredtobeadmirable,heroicqualities.Thenyoumightshowstudentsanothersetofstatementsandletthemfindwordsthatincludepartsofanopinion.Youcanaskthemtotalkaboutwhatwordsmightbecluewordstotheauthor’sopinionandthendiscusswhattheythinktheauthor’spointofviewmightbe.Forexample:TheBritisharetaxingourtea.Thisisanunfairtax.Wedidnotvoteonit.TheBritisharetryingtostrangleourfreedom.Youmightkeepstudentsontherugabitlongerforthislesson,sinceitisnotlikelythatwhentheygoofftoworktheywillfindsuchclearexamples.So,youmightnowprovideanotheractiveinvolvement.YoucantypeuptwoparagraphsontheBostonMassacreandshowstudentstheseparagraphssidebyside.“InMarch1770,anangrymobofAmericanrowdiesstartedtauntingeightofKingGeorge’ssoldiersandpeltingthemwithicysnowballs.Thensomeonethrewalumpofwoodataredcoatandknockedhimflat.Theenragedtroopsbeganfiringintothecrowd,andfivecolonistswerekilled.”(p.22ofGeorgeVersusGeorge).

WhatIwanttoteachyoutodayisthatreadersdon’tjustthinkabouttheinformationinatext,theyalsofigureoutthepointofviewoftheauthorofthattextandhowhe/shemightbeswayingyoutothinkacertainwayaboutthetopic.”


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“OntheafternoonofMarch5,1770,agroupofboysbeginthrowingsnowballsatasentryguardingthecustomshouse.Youareamongthecrowdthatgatherstowatchthefun.Whenthesentrysummonshelp,asquadof8soldiersconfrontsthecrowdandopensfire,killingfivecivilians.”(p.10ofYouWouldn’tWanttoBeattheBostonTeaParty!Likelystudentswillnoticethatwhileoneauthorhascalledthecolonists“anangrymobofAmericanrowdies”andsaidtheywere“taunting”thesoldiers‐‐showingapointofviewthatseemstoplaceblameonthecolonistsforthetrouble,thesecondauthorcalledthema“groupofboys”andsayswatchingthishappenwas“fun,”revealingapointofviewthatblamesthe“boys”alotless.(Eventhewaytheauthorsdescribethesnowballsdiffer‐‐onesaystheyarebeing“pelted”‐‐theotherusesthesofter,kindertermof“throwing.”Oneauthorplacesthereaderatthescenewhiletheotherkeepsthereaderdistant.)Studentscangoofftorereadtheirmaterials,payingcarefulattentiontowordsthatcluethemintotheauthor’sopinionandaddtotheiroriginalnotes.(Forstudentsthatstillneedhelpwiththis,particularlywhenthepointofviewismoresubtle,youcanshowthempage19ofGiveMeLiberty!Pushthemtonoticehowtheauthorherecallsthesoldiers“frightened”whileanotherauthorpaintsthemas“enraged.”)Bythispointinthecontentareaunit,studentswillbelookingattheAmericanRevolutionthroughavarietyoflenses,consideringmultipleperspectives,andtheworktheyaredoinginreadingworkshopwillsupportthis.Asstudentsarebeginningtodiscussthekindsoflanguagechoicesthattheauthorshavemadeandwhatthoselanguagechoicesshowabouttheauthors’pointsofviewontopicsandevents,youwillalsowanttohelpstudentsdothisworkwithfirstpersonandthirdpersonaccounts,astheCommonCoreexpects.Soyournextlessonmightbeareviewofthisone,onlythistime,youmightbringinaprimarydocument.Studentscanthinkabouthowafirstpersonaccountmighthaveaverydifferentfocusandwayofpresentinginformationonatopicthanathirdperson.Tomodelthisyoumighttakeaprimarydocument(evenjustaparagraphofCaptainJamesPreston’saccountofwhathappenedattheBostonMassacre)andanalyzeittoseehispointofview.Studentscannoticethathesaysthatthecolonistsused“mostcruel”and“horridthreatsagainstthetroops.”(Besuretopreviewthisprimarydocumentbeforeyoushowyourstudents‐‐therearesomeinstancesofprofanityinthiseyewitnessaccount.)Youcanpushstudentstothinkaboutwhoisgivingthiseyewitnessaccountandhowthatmightaffectthefocusandinformationprovided.CaptainJamesPreston,wasafterall,theCaptainoftheBritishtroopsduringtheBostonMassacre.HowmighthisaccountbedifferentinfocusandinformationthananauthorwritingabouttheBostonMassacretoday?


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Onthisday,youmightgiveeachgroupofstudentsaprimarydocumenttheyhavealreadystudiedinsocialstudiesandletthemdothispointofviewworkwiththesedocuments.Notethattheseaccountsarelengthyandofcoursecomplex,soyoumaywanttochooseshortexcerptsthatparticularlyshowcasethespeaker’spointofview.Ofcoursetherearemanyotherkindsofpointsofviewtoconsider,amongthempointsofviewofsomeremarkablewomenintheRevolution:MollyPitcher,SybilLudington,PenelopeBarkerandLydiaDarragh.Tosupporttheirunderstandingsofpointsofviewstudentsmightaskthemselvesandothers:

Howwouldtheeventberecountedby(apersoninvolved)comparedtotheaccountgivenbyan(outsideobserver)?

Whatarethedifferencesinfocusbetweenthetwoaccounts?

Youcouldalsoteachstudentstolookathowauthorshavechosentostructuretheirtextsandwhatreasonsandevidencetheygivetosupporttheirpoints.Whatkindofreactioninthereaderdothosechoicesleadto?OneauthorstartswithanecdotesofhowtheBritishsoldierswereconstantlypushedintogarbage;anotherauthorstartswithstatisticsofhowmanyBritishsoldiersweresenttothecolonies(4,000).Whatistheeffecteachwayofstartinghasonthereader?Somequestionsstudentsmightaskthemselvesandothers:

Whatmighttheauthorhaveincludedthisdetailtoshow? Theauthorseemstobemakingthepointthat...Whichsentencehasevidence

supportingthatpoint? Whydoestheauthormostlikelysaythis? Whatreasondoestheauthorgivetosupportherpointthat…?

Studentswilllikelybenoticingthatsomeauthorshaveamorenuancedpointofviewthanothers.Someauthorspaint“thecolonists”asangrywhileothers(suchasIfYouLivedintheTimeoftheAmericanRevolution)showthattherearevariousperspectiveswithinthisonegroup.Studentswillbegintonoticeandbecautiousoftermslike“thecolonists”or“all”or“none”,whicharelessnuanced.Asstudentsroundthehomestretchofthisunit,youcansupporttheminthinkingagainabouttheimportanceoftheirsubtopic,askingthemtowriteandtotalkaboutitfurther,drawingonallofthesourcestheyhavereadandcriticallyreread.Astheunitendsinreadingworkshop,studentscantakeallofthewritingtheyhavedoneontheirsubtopicsandbringittowritingworkshoptohelpthemdeveloptheirwriting‐‐addingmorelengthanddepthtotheirinformationalbooks.