Reading Opinion Texts: Determining an Author’s Opinion | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G4:M3:U3:L2

Reading Opinion Texts: Determining an Author’s Opinion

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
  • W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can determine an author's opinion in a text. (RI.4.8)
  • I can explain how an author supports an opinion with reasons and evidence. (RI.4.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Annotated Robert Barton's letter (RI.4.8)
  • Exit Ticket: Determining an Opinion (RI.4.8, W.4.1)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Reader: Opinion in Divided Loyalties (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Reading Aloud and Determining the Gist: Robert Barton's Letter (15 minutes)

B. Independent Practice: Determining Reasons and Evidence (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Exit Ticket: Determining an Opinion (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students read another opinion letter, this time written from the perspective of main character Robert Barton from the play Divided Loyalties. Students independently practice determining the author's opinion and identifying reasons and evidence the author uses to support his opinion (RI.4.8).
  • Students continue working to become effective learners and ethical people as they persevere through complex text and show respect as they share opinions.
  • Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently as the teacher reads Robert Barton's letter in Work Time A.
  • The research reading that students complete for homework helps build both their Vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to the American Revolution. By participating in this volume of reading over time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

How it builds on previous work:

  • This lesson follows the same routine as Lesson 1: reading Robert's letter, determining his opinion, and identifying reasons and evidence that support his opinion.
  • Continue to use Goals 1-4 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may require additional support reading Robert Barton's letter and determining his opinion, reasons, and evidence.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review students' annotations to ensure they understand that the gist is what the text is mostly about, to review the strategies they use to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, and to ensure they understand how to identify reasons and evidence that support an opinion.

Down the road:

  • Students will read a new text, determine the author's opinion, and identify reasons and evidence that support the opinion as part of the mid-unit assessment in Lesson 4.

In Advance

  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-2 to create anchor charts to share with families, to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families, and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.B.6 and 4.I.C.11

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by continuing the reading and text analysis routines begun in the previous lesson and providing students with the opportunity to reread the text from the previous lesson (William's letter) and act out how they think Robert might have responded.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to read Robert's letter and identify examples of opinion, reasons, and evidence independently. Model and think aloud the process for students as needed and consider working closely with a group of students who need heavier support. See levels of support, below, and the Meeting Students' Needs column for additional suggestions.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During the Mini Language Dive, challenge students to generate questions about the sentence before asking the prepared questions.

For heavier support:

  • Consider working closely with a group of students during Work Time B to reread Robert's letter and determine his opinion, reasons, and evidence for his opinion. Use William's letter from the previous lesson to point out the structure of the letter for students (e.g., opinion clearly stated at the end of the first paragraph, first reason stated early in the second paragraph with evidence immediately after, etc.) and encourage them to use that example for support as they analyze Robert's letter.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Continue to reinforce expectations that students read along silently in their heads as text is read aloud during the lesson.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Facilitate student management of information and resources in this lesson by allowing them to identify unknown words and record them in their Vocabulary log. Also consider offering scaffolds when reading for gist (e.g., sticky notes with words pertaining to the gist of the story already printed on them or offering multiple choices for the gist and having students circle their response).
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to provide prompts and sentence frames for those students who require them to be successful in peer interactions and collaboration. Also support students in sustaining effort and/or attention by provide opportunities for restating the goal of the activity.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

  • opinion, reasons, evidence (L)
  • informed, respected, disappoint, rebel, duty, Patriots, defeat (T)

Materials

  • Robert Barton's letter (one per student and one to display)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Exploring Opinions as Readers and Writers (from Lesson 1; one per student and one to display)
  • Exit Ticket: Determining an Opinion (one per student)

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Reader: Opinion in Divided Loyalties (5 minutes)

  • Remind students that in the previous lesson, they read a letter from William Barton written to his father, explaining his opinion on the American Revolution.
  • Move students into pairs and invite them to label themselves A and B.
  • Use the Think-Pair-Share protocol to discuss the following:

"How might Robert have reacted when reading William's letter?" (surprised, upset, angry)

  • Invite volunteers to act out Robert's response.
  • Tell students that today they will read a letter written by Robert responding to William.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with verbal expression: (Providing Alternative Ways to Respond) Invite students to write or draw how Robert may have reacted when reading William's letter. (MMAE)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the learning targets and read them aloud:

"I can determine an author's opinion in a text."

"I can explain how an author supports an opinion with reasons and evidence."

  • Point out that these targets are the same targets they worked with in Lesson 1.
  • Use the Thumb-O-Meter checking for understanding technique for students to indicate their understanding of these targets.
  • Review and clarify the following Vocabulary as necessary:
    • opinion (what a person thinks about something or someone; this thinking can be based on facts, feelings, experience, or a combination of all three)
    • reasons (an explanation for why an author thinks something is true)
    • evidence (facts and details based on research or observations that support a reason)
  • For ELLs: (Working toward Same Learning Target) Invite students to share one way they worked toward each learning target in the previous lesson. (MMR, MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reading Aloud and Determining the Gist: Robert Barton's Letter (15 minutes)

  • Distribute and display Robert Barton's letter. Invite students to follow along, reading silently in their heads as you read the text aloud.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What is the text about?" (It is a letter from Robert responding to his son.)

  • Share that as in Lesson 1, today they will read this text for the gist and then reread it more closely, looking at how the author supports his opinion.
  • Follow the same routine from Work Time B of Unit 1, Lesson 1 to guide students through reading and determining the gist of this text. Note: Students will not reflect on the text or determine the meaning of unfamiliar Vocabulary.
  • Remind students to use the following:
    • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart
    • Vocabulary logs
    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support determining the gist: (Highlighting Key Phrases) Consider highlighting or underlining key phrases in their individual copy of Robert Barton's letter in advance. This will lift the gist up for them as they read along. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: (Mini Language Dive) "Although we remain loyal to the king,/you are still our son/and we love you."
    • Deconstruct: Discuss the sentence and each chunk. Language goals for focus structure:
  • we: "Who?"/Meaning: We refers to Robert and his family, with the exception of William. (plural pronoun)
  • remain loyal: "What?"/Meaning: Remain means "continue to be." Robert and his family continue to be loyal, or committed. (verb phrase)
  • to the king: "To whom?"/Meaning: The king is the king of Great Britain. Robert and his family are loyal to Great Britain. To is used to connect the preceding verb phrase to the thing affected by it, in this case connecting remain loyal with the king. (prepositional phrase)
  • Although means "even though" and signals that there will be contrast between this first chunk and the rest of the sentence. Students can suggest other words that could be used in place of although without changing the meaning. (subordinating conjunction)
  • Practice: "How can you say this chunk in your own words?"
    • Reconstruct: Reread the sentence. Ask:

"Now what do you think the sentence means?"

"How does your understanding of this sentence add to your understanding of the text and the guiding question?"

    • Practice: Although ________, I still ______ and ___________. Ask:

"Can you say this sentence in a different order? How?"

B. Independent Practice: Determining Reasons and Evidence (30 minutes)

  • Tell students that as in Lesson 1, they will reread this opinion letter to identify Robert Barton's opinion on the American Revolution and to determine his reasons and evidence for this opinion. Instead of doing this as a whole group, they will do this independently today.
  • Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically persevere. Tell students that because they will work to determine Robert's reasons and evidence on their own today, they will need to persevere.
  • Direct students' attention to the first paragraph of Robert Barton's letter and follow the same routine from Work Time B of Lesson 1 to guide students through independently rereading this letter, identifying Robert's opinion, as well as his reasons and evidence. Remind students to refer to the Exploring Opinions as Readers and Writers handout as needed:
    • Reread the first paragraph, identifying the sentence that most clearly states the author's opinion.
    • Reread the second and third paragraphs, identifying the sentences that most clearly state reasons for the author's opinion.
    • Reread the second and third paragraphs, identifying evidence that supports the author's reasons.
    • After independently rereading each paragraph and identifying the author's opinion, reasons, and evidence, discuss as a whole group.
    • Focus students on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart, specifically respect. Point out that throughout his letter, Robert showed respect even though he had a different opinion from his son.
  • For students who may need additional support with verbal expression: Provide sentence frames for responses or allow them to share their learning in other ways, such as drawing or writing. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Modeling and Thinking Aloud: Identifying Opinion) Model and think aloud the process for identifying Robert's opinion, one reason, and one example of evidence stated in the letter before inviting students to work independently.
  • For ELLs: (Opinions/Reasons/Evidence Chart: Adding Examples) As students share, consider adding examples of Robert's opinion, reasons, and evidence to support his reasons to the Opinions/Reasons/Evidence chart (see Lesson 1, "for heavier support").
  • For ELLs: (Opinions/Reasons/Evidence Chart: Connecting Ideas) Invite students to turn to an elbow partner and describe Robert's opinion by connecting the ideas listed in each column of the chart, using the sentence starters and linking words and phrases to connect them.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Exit Ticket: Determining an Opinion (5 minutes)

  • Distribute the Exit Ticket: Determining an Opinion.
  • Read the questions on the exit ticket aloud for students and invite them to complete it.
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge:

"What if the author had not included the word cruel? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.)

  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets.
  • As time permits, focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and invite them to self-assess how well they persevered and showed respect in this lesson.
  • For students who may need additional support with Vocabulary: Provide options for comprehension by pre-underlining words that express an opinion on the exit ticket. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Discussing Meaning in Home Languages) Invite students to discuss the meaning of the exit ticket quotes in home language groups before writing.

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs
  • Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • Modify the amount or complexity of reading that struggling learners complete for homework. Provide sentence frames for their responses or allow them to share their learning in other ways, such as drawing or discussing what they've learned with their family, a partner, or the teacher.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing: (Oral Response) Students may benefit from discussing and responding to their prompt orally, either with a partner or family member or by recording their response. (MMAE)

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