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Do not duplicate. For copies, visit our website: readingandwritingproject.com DRAFT 2013-2014 © 1 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014 Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution January (Level 3 Reading Benchmark: R/S) In this unit students see that they can read to learn and that they can undertake inquiry through reading. At its heart, this unit is about helping students read with purpose, deciding what information is most important to hold onto and how to organize that information, comparing and contrasting information from different texts and finally, deciding how to synthesize their learning to teach others. The spine of the unit is aligned to Volume II of Navigating Nonfiction from the Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades 35 by Lucy Calkins and Kathleen Tolan. You will see we have revised the unit to be exactly aligned to grade‐specific expectations of the Common Core and to focus on specific fourth grade social studies content. (The unit is written in such a way that you could alter the social studies content, switching in a different topic‐‐but in doing so, much of the specificity of this unit would be lost.) This unit has been developed in conjunction with the TCRWP writing calendar of units as well as the TCRWP content area calendar of units. We want to unpack these connections so that you get a sense of how the three work in combination with one another. In the third unit of the content area calendar, around mid December, students began studying the American Revolution. Thus, as this reading unit starts, students have been studying the American Revolution for about two weeks or so in the content area. We expect, then, that they will have already gotten a broad understanding of some of the basic information of the American Revolution (the causes, for example, and some of the key turning points). Now in this unit, they will build on that general knowledge and begin to study particular aspects (related sub‐topics) of the American Revolution in more depth. At the same time as this reading unit starts, students will begin the writing workshop unit in which they will write research reports on the American Revolution (a unit based on the new Units of Study Book Bringing History to Life, Grade 4 by Lucy Calkins and Anna Gratz Cockerille). In the first bend of that unit, students will write about the American Revolution in broad strokes, drawing on their learning from the content area work. Then as that writing unit moves on, students will write about subtopics relating to the American Revolution‐‐likely, the same ones they will have been studying in reading workshop during this unit. Thus, each of the three units rely on and build on each other. The goal is for students to transfer and apply their learning from one subject to another seamlessly. Welcome to the Unit

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Do not duplicate. For copies, visit our website: readingandwritingproject.com

DRAFT 2013-2014 ©

  

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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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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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10 

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

 

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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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

“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.