Reading Informational Texts: Identifying Factors for Success | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G5:M3:U1:L6

Reading Informational Texts: Identifying Factors for Success

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • RI.5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
  • W.5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • SL.5.2: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can summarize an informational text read aloud. (SL.5.2)
  • I can write a paragraph explaining how people or events led to Jackie Robinson's success using specific information in the text. (RI.5.1, RI.5.3, W.5.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher (SL.5.2)
  • Support from Decision Makers paragraph (RI.5.3, W.5.2)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Promises to Keep, Pages 22-27 (20 minutes)

B. Identifying Factors for Success (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Partner Writing: Explaining Factors for Success (20 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 listen to and summarize a new chapter from Promises to Keep and continue to identify factors in Jackie Robinson's success (RI.5.3, SL.5.2). This chapter includes information about institutionalized discrimination in baseball. It also highlights when Jackie's family travels to Florida, where Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Continue to be mindful that these issues may be sensitive for students, and monitor student reflections to determine if more discussion is necessary.
  • During the read-aloud in Work Time A, students begin using the Listening Closely note-catcher, which is used and expanded upon in later lessons. If it's difficult to read the text aloud and model using the note-catcher at the same time, consider inviting a "guest reader" to the class for the read-aloud (e.g., principal, another teacher, parent volunteer).
  • In the Closing, students write an informational paragraph explaining how decision makers affected Jackie Robinson's success in breaking the color barrier in baseball (RI.5.3, W.5.2). Students use the Informative Writing Checklist as they write (W.5.2). Recall that throughout the school year, students have been provided with checklists for their writing, which outline the key criteria that the CCSS require of the writing type. These checklists are closely aligned with the teacher rubrics used to grade student assessments. An empty column is provided on each student checklist for students to add criteria for the specific characteristics required by the writing prompt, and time, directions, and examples for this process are built into the relevant lessons.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become ethical people by showing respect as they reflect on the chapter read from Promises to Keep, and working to become effective learners by collaborating as they write a paragraph with a partner.

How it builds on previous work:

  • This lesson follows the same routine from Lessons 4-5 of identifying factors for Jackie Robinson's success.
  • Students use what they know about writing summaries from the first half of the unit to summarize a text read aloud to them in this lesson.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may need more support in writing the informational paragraph in Closing and Assessment A. Consider providing sentence frames or a focus statement to guide their writing.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review students' Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher to ensure students understand how to summarize a text read aloud to them.
  • Consider using the Speaking and Listening Informal Assessment: Collaborative Discussion Checklist during students' partner discussions in Work Time B and Closing and Assessment A (see the Tools page).
  • Consider using the Writing Process Checklist for Writing and Language Skills during students' writing time in Closing and Assessment A (see the Tools page).

Down the road:

  • Students will practice listening to a text read aloud, taking notes, and summarizing the text in the next lesson.
  • Students will continue gathering evidence on the factors for success anchor charts throughout the second half of this unit.
  • Students will refer to the Informative Writing Checklist, working with it more in-depth in Unit 3 when they write an essay comparing and contrasting factors of success of two athletes.

In Advance

  • Strategically pair students for partner work during Work Time B and the Closing, with at least one strong reader per pair.
  • Consider whether or not you will have a guest reader for Work Time A.
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1 and 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 5.I.B.5, 5.I.B.6, 5.I.C.10, 5.II.A.1, 5.II.A.2, 5.II.C.6, and 5.II.C.7

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by modeling the process for taking running notes with students during Work Time A, and stopping after each page to discuss what to record on the note-catcher. Additionally, Work Time B follows the same routine as Lesson 4 for Identifying Factors for Success.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to take running notes, write a summary from notes, identify factors of success, and write an informative paragraph in the amount of time allotted. Additionally, students may find it challenging to distinguish between writing a summary paragraph and writing an informative paragraph (see "Levels of support" and Meeting Students' Needs).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Challenge students to vary the linking words and phrases they use to connect their sentences as they write their summaries and informative paragraphs. For example, if they have often used For example to connect ideas, encourage them to use For instance.

For heavier support:

  • During Closing and Assessment A, consider introducing a chart titled "Factors for Success Paragraph," paralleling the "Summarizing the Section" chart from Lesson 3, to support students in writing their informative paragraphs. On the top half of the chart, write the following bullet points:
    • Include three or four facts/pieces of evidence to support the focus statement.
    • Use linking words and phrases to connect facts/evidence in the paragraph.
    • Use correct verb tense.
  • Create a bank of linking words and phrases by writing For example, Also, and In addition under the second bullet, and encourage students to add to the bank during the unit.
  • Leave space on the bottom half of the chart to write a shared writing informative paragraph, to serve as a model throughout the unit.
  • During Closing and Assessment A, consider providing a paragraph outline for students to organize their writing, and make connections between the information on the Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart and the information they need to include in their informative paragraphs. Example:

[Introductory Statement] _____. [Focus Statement] _____. [Fact/Evidence] _____. [Fact/Evidence]_____. [Fact/Evidence]_____. [Fact/Evidence]_____. [Concluding statement] ___.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): During this lesson, students are invited to reflect on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically highlighting "respect" during Work Time A. Consider printing and displaying photographs of students demonstrating each habit of character to connect these terms to concrete shared experiences, or invite students to recall one way they showed respect recently outside the classroom.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): In this lesson, students work in pairs to write a paragraph about a factor that led to Jackie Robinson's success. When introducing this writing activity, continue to support a range of fine motor abilities and writing need by offering students options for writing utensils. Also consider supporting students' expressive skills by offering partial dictation of student responses.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to provide prompts and sentences 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 restating the goal of the activity.

Vocabulary

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

  • notes (L)
  • league, civilian, pastime, sportswriters, commissioner, values, proposed, supported, scouts (T)
  • change, society, color barrier, factors, contribute, success, support, decision makers, segregation, sportswriters, integration (W)

Materials

  • Promises to Keep (from Lesson 1; one per student and one to display)
  • Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher (one per student and one to display)
  • Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference)
  • Academic Word Wall (begun in Module 1; added to during Work Time A)
  • Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Lesson 1; added to during Work Time A)
  • Criteria for an Effective Summary anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart (new; co-created with students during the Closing; see supporting Materials)
  • Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Module Guiding Questions anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Paper (lined; one piece per student)
  • Informative Writing Checklist (one per student and one to display)
  • Support from Decision Makers paragraph (example, for teacher reference)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

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. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

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

"I can summarize an informational text read aloud."

"I can write a paragraph explaining how people or events led to Jackie Robinson's success using specific information in the text."

  • Point out that the first target is slightly different from what they worked on in the first half of this unit--they will still be summarizing informational texts, but this time, they will be listening to the text read aloud and summarizing.
  • Tell students that they will continue identifying reasons for Jackie Robinson's success and use what they know about informational writing to write a paragraph about these factors.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension and engagement: Invite students to share one way that they worked toward similar learning targets in previous lessons. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Activating Prior Knowledge) Activate students' prior knowledge of the information in Promises to Keep by inviting them to orally summarize the previous chapter with a partner. Explain that thinking about what happened in the text so far will help prepare them for active listening, and support them in summarizing text read aloud.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Promises to Keep, Pages 22-27 (20 minutes)

  • Display page 22 of Promises to Keep and read aloud the chapter title. Direct students' attention to the photographs on pages 22-23.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What do you notice and wonder?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Read pages 22!-23 aloud.
  • Turn and Talk, and use a total participation technique to invite responses from the group:

"What is the text about?" (African Americans' relationship with baseball)

  • Repeat this process with pages 24-27.
  • Tell students they will use this chapter to practice how a listener can take notes and summarize a text. Tell students that taking notes is an important step in summarizing because it will help them think about the main ideas and key details of the text to include in their summaries, and that they should not try to summarize a text from memory because they may miss important details.
  • Share that this type of note-taking can be described as running notes. Tell students that as they listen to the text, they will jot down notes about what they observe or hear. Then they will review their notes and summarize the text.
  • Distribute and display the Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher. Tell students they will use this note-catcher to record their running notes during the read-aloud. Select a volunteer to read the headings of the table in the note-catcher. Answer any clarifying questions.
  • Introduce the guest reader (if necessary), sharing that he or she will read pages 22-27 aloud as you model how a listener can take notes and then summarize a text.
  • Invite the guest reader to read page 22 aloud. Ask:

"After hearing this page read aloud, what notes could we take?" (Responses will vary, but should include details from this section of the text.)

  • Model recording these notes in the "What do you OBSERVE/HEAR?" box on the note-catcher. Invite students to record these details on their note-catchers. Refer to Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Invite students to record any questions they have after hearing this text in the "What QUESTIONS do you have?" box.
  • Continue in this manner for pages 23-27, stopping after each page to discuss and model what kind of running notes could be recorded on the note-catcher.
  • Invite students to share any new or unfamiliar Vocabulary from this chapter, adding any new words to the Academic Word Wall and Domain-Specific Word Wall, and inviting students to add translations in home languages.
  • Invite students to turn to the next page of their note-catchers. Tell students that now that they have completed their running notes, they can summarize the text. Remind them that they practiced writing summaries of Promises to Keep throughout the first half of the unit.
  • Invite students to review their notes and Turn and Talk:

"What are the main ideas of this chapter?"

"What are the key details supporting the main ideas?"

  • Invite students to write a summary of "1945: A Changing World." Circulate to support students as needed, reminding them to refer to the Criteria for an Effective Summary anchor chart as needed. Refer to Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference).
  • Refocus whole group and invite students to share their summaries.
  • Guide students through the reflection routine from Work Time C of Lesson 1. Review the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart as necessary.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the first learning target.
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Provide options for expression by offering a copy of the Listening Closely: "1945: A Changing World" note-catcher that includes lines. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Thinking Aloud: Taking Notes) While modeling taking notes, consider thinking aloud the process. Remind students that when taking notes, they don't have to write in complete sentences. (Example: "I heard that the Negro league was the only league open to an African American ballplayer at the time. I think that is a key detail supporting the chapter title, '1945: A Changing World,' so I will write 'Negro league=only league open to African American ballplayers' in my notes.")
  • For ELLs: (Determining Main Idea from Running Notes) Model and think aloud the process for determining the main ideas of the chapter from running notes before students summarize. Consider underlining key details that are connected to one another, and write the main idea next to these key details in the margins of the note-catcher. Invite students to do the same. Explain that, now that students have identified key details and main ideas on their note-catchers, they can follow the same process for writing summaries as in previous lessons.
  • For ELLs: ("Summarizing a Section" Chart: Referencing) Consider reviewing this chart (see Lesson 3, For heavier support) with students and inviting them to suggest new words or phrases to add to the linking language bank. Encourage students to vary the linking language they use in their summaries and to refer to the displayed shared summary as a model for their writing.

B. Identifying Factors for Success (15 minutes)

  • Invite students to take out their copies of Promises to Keep. Follow the same routine from the Closing of Lesson 4 to guide students through creating the new Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart. Review the Module Guiding Questions anchor chart and refer to Factors for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • For students who may need additional support with oral language and processing: Pair students with strategic partners to ensure that they have strong, politely helpful partners to support their efforts in sharing their thinking and listening to their partner. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Mini Language Dive) "With the country delicately balanced toward change / and baseball under pressure to set the pace, / someone within the executive ranks of baseball / had to commit to breaking the color barrier." (p.26)
    • Deconstruct: Invite students to discuss the meaning of the sentence and grapple with the meaning of each chunk. Encourage extended conversation and practice with the focus structure in the highlighted chunk, keeping the following language goals in mind:
      • had to commit: "Had to what?" / Meaning: had to is used to express an obligation in the past. commit means to dedicate oneself to something. Suggested questions: "What did someone within the executive ranks of baseball have to do? How else could you say this chunk?" (verb phrase)
      • to breaking: "To what?" / Meaning: breaking means forcing a way through something, in order to change it. Note that breaking can also mean violently separating something, as in breaking an arm. to signals a relationship between to commit and breaking, or forcing a way through something. Suggested questions: "What did someone within the executive ranks of baseball commit to? What is another way to say this chunk?" (prepositional phrase)
      • the color barrier: "Breaking what?" / Meaning: the color barrier refers to the racial segregation at the time, which prevented nonwhite people from participating in the same activities as white people. The text talks about this segregation in the preceding pages. Suggested questions: "What does the color barrier refer to? How do you know?" (noun phrase)
    • 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 Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers?"

    • Practice: Consider inviting students to use the sentence to speak or write about their own lives. Suggestion: I had to commit to ________. Ask:

"What connection can you make between your understanding of this sentence and your understanding of racial segregation at the time?"

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Partner Writing: Explaining Factors for Success (20 minutes)

  • Move students into predetermined partnerships. Tell students that in a moment, they will work with their partner to write a paragraph about a factor that led to Jackie Robinson's success.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and review the criteria of collaboration.
  • Distribute paper and tell students that even though they are working with a partner, they should each write a complete a draft of their paragraph.
  • Distribute and display the Informative Writing Checklist (see Supporting Materials) and remind students they used this checklist in Modules 1-2 to ensure that their writing meets the criteria of strong informative pieces. Invite students to skim through the characteristics, clarifying any criterion as needed.
  • Focus students on the second guiding question:
    • "What factors can contribute to an individual's success in a changing society?"
  • Tell students that for their paragraphs, they will respond to this question and explain how decision makers in baseball led to Jackie Robinson's success. Remind them that they just thought of a focus statement and talked through evidence as part of the Think-Pair-Share at the end of Work Time B.
  • Give students 15 minutes to write. Circulate to support students as they work, reminding them to refer to the Factor for Success: Support from Decision Makers anchor chart and their Informative Writing Checklist as they write. Refer to Support from Decision Makers paragraph (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Invite students to record "Y" for "Yes" and the date in the final column of their Informative Writing Checklist if they feel the criteria marked on their checklists have been achieved in their writing in this lesson.
  • Collect students' paragraphs to assess their progress toward explaining how people or events led to Jackie Robinson's success.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess on the second learning target and on how well they collaborated in this lesson.
  • For students who may need additional support in strategy development: Provide differentiated mentors by purposefully selecting partners. Consider meeting with the mentors in advance to encourage them to share their thought process with their partner as they write together. (MMAE, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Shared Writing: Informative Paragraph) Consider working with a group of students to complete the informative paragraph as a shared or interactive writing experience. Write this paragraph at the bottom of the "Factors for Success Paragraph" chart (see For heavier support), to serve as a model for students to refer to when writing informative paragraphs in upcoming lessons.
  • For ELLs: (Displaying Charts for Comparison) When finished writing, display the "Summarizing the Section" and "Factors for Success Paragraph" charts side by side. Invite students to share similarities and differences between the two paragraphs. (Example: They are similar because both paragraphs use linking words and phrases to connect supporting information. They are different because the summary focuses on the main ideas and key details of the section, while the informative paragraph focuses specifically on one factor for success.)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs
  • Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing: Students may benefit from discussing and responding to their prompt orally, either with a partner or family member or by recording their response. (MMAE)
  • For students who may need additional support with reading: Continue to support students in selecting a prompt to respond to, rephrasing the prompt, and thinking aloud possible responses. (MMR)

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