Generate Discussion Norms | EL Education Curriculum

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.6.1, RL.6.3, SL.6.1b, L.6.4

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RL.6.4, RL.6.6, RL.6.10, W.6.10, L.6.6

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can demonstrate understanding of the excerpt from chapter 11 of The Lightning Thief. (RL.6.3)
  • I can generate norms for a productive discussion. (SL.6.1b)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (RL.6.4, L.6.4)
  • Work Time A: Gist on sticky notes
  • Work Time B: Discussion Norms (SL.6.1b)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - L.6.4 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11 Excerpt - RL.6.3 (20 minutes)

B. Generate Discussion Norms - SL.6.1b (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflect on Academic Mindsets (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Analyze Point of View: Students complete Homework: Lesson 13: Point of View: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11.

B. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • L.6.4 – Opening A: Students complete an entrance ticket in which they apply strategies to determine the meanings of unknown words.
  • RL.6.1 – Work Time A: Students read the next chapter of the text and find the gist. Students also unpack unfamiliar vocabulary and answer comprehension questions using inferences and evidence from text.
  • RL.6.3 – Work Time A: After reading, students discuss the challenges that Percy faced in chapter 11, describe his responses to those challenges, and speculate about connections between his actions and his character.
  • SL.6.1b – Work Time B: Students observe a practice discussion and then work together to develop the Discussion Norms anchor chart as part of preparation for the end of unit text-based discussion during Lesson 16.
  • In this lesson, students engage in the following protocol. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.
    • Socratic Seminar: Promotes thinking, meaning making, and the ability to debate, use evidence, and build on one another’s thinking. When well-designed and implemented, the seminar provides an active role for every student, engages students in complex thinking about rich content, and teaches students discussion skills.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Focus on the first paragraph of the chapter. Discuss the idea of gods being a convenient way to explain events that are confusing and/or unfortunate. Give brief examples of natural phenomena that were explained through stories before humans understood the science of them. Provide additional myths from other cultures for students to compare and contrast.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In previous lessons, students have closely read through chapter 10 of The Lightning Thief, found the gist, determined the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases, and analyzed point of view and language use. In this lesson, students continue to read the novel and expand their thinking about point of view and how Percy has responded to challenges, in preparation for the End of Unit 1 Assessment.

Support All Students

  • As before, continue to be mindful about issues and characterizations that may be sensitive for students or with which some students may connect personally or deeply. In chapter 11, Medusa is depicted as a Middle Eastern woman wearing something similar to a niqab; the connection of Medusa’s monstrosity with what seems to be a Muslim identity is a problematic comparison, as is using food to describe the color of her skin (“Her coffee-colored hands looked old”). Additionally, Medusa is decapitated in this chapter; some students may be uncomfortable with this image.
  • After reading this chapter of the text for the gist, ensure that students have time to reflect. Monitor students and determine if there are issues surfacing that need to be discussed in more detail as a whole group, in smaller groups, or independently. Be aware that reflections may be personal, and students are not required to share them.
  • Students may need additional support with determining the gist, working through unfamiliar vocabulary, and answering text-dependent questions. Again, use thoughtful pairing, and consider which groups might need more constant support. ▲
  • Students who would benefit from fluency practice should be encouraged and supported during Work Time A to read with a partner or small group. ▲
  • ELLs may feel anxiety about the upcoming discussion assessment. Provide sentence frames or a graphic organizer that helps them to organize their ideas before speaking. Or allow them to use their vocabulary logs and highlight or star key words they want to use when they participate in the discussion. ▲
  • If an ELL is a strong speaker, incorporate him or her into the model to build confidence in other ELLs about their ability to participate in the upcoming discussion assessment. ▲
  • Vary the degrees of freedom for acceptable performance. Emphasize process, effort, improvement in meeting standards as alternatives to external evaluation and competition in regard to the upcoming assessment.
  • When giving feedback, remind students that feedback should be kind, helpful, and positive, not personal.
  • Create a “map” of the participants in the model group and their contributions to the conversation. During the discussion, mark up the map to make visually explicit how the conversation moves among participants as they build on one another's ideas and pose questions.

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ answers to gist as they work to identify common issues. Use these common issues as teaching points in the whole group share-out.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students prepare for the text-based discussion which is part of the End of Unit 1 Assessment. The discussion focuses on how Percy responds to and changes as a result of the events in the first half of the novel.

In Advance

  • Prepare the Discussion Norms anchor chart.
  • Strategically decide how students will accomplish the reading for today's class. Be mindful of and balance variety with students' needs and their desire for choice while planning for the reading time during the lessons.
  • Review the student tasks and examples answers to become familiar with what students will be required to do in the lesson (see Materials list).
  • Review the procedure for the Socratic Seminar protocol, which can be found in the EL Education: Classroom Protocols document located on the Tools Page (http://eled.org/tools).
  • Select the small group of students who will model the discussion during Work Time B, and help them to prepare and be ready to model the short discussion.
  • Preread chapter 11 in The Lightning Thief to identify words or plot points that may challenge students.
  • Prepare copies of handouts for students, including entrance ticket (see Materials list).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules 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 6.I.A.1, 6.I.A.3, and 6.I.A.4.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson promotes equitable and effective conversation through the use of Discussion Norms and continues to facilitate opportunities for collaboration among students of varying proficiency levels.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to generate Discussion Norms based on one class example, especially as the norms may be different from what they are used to in school or other communities. Be prepared with specific guiding questions that hone student attention to important elements of the discussion.

Vocabulary

  • competence, impertinent, norms (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Academic word wall (from in Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Gist Record: The Lightning Thief anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Text Guide: The Lightning Thief (for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Affix lists (one per student; see Tools page)
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (one per student; text; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Vocabulary logs (one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 (for teacher reference)
  • Discussion Norms anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Discussion Norms anchor chart (for display; new, co-created during Work Time B)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (one per student)
  • Synopsis: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11 (one per student; one for display)
  • Homework: Point of View: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11 (one per student; from Unit 1 Homework)
  • Online or paper translation dictionary (one per ELL; for ELLs in home language)
  • Online or paper dictionary (one per partnership)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 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 students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

Opening

A. Engage the Learner – L.6.4 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13.
  • With student support, record the meaning of the word impertinent on the academic word wall with translations in students’ home languages. Write synonyms or sketch a visual above each key term to scaffold students’ understanding. ▲
  • Invite students to record impertinent in their vocabulary logs.
  • Explain that the word impertinent is one they will encounter in chapter 11 of The Lightning Thief and will continue to work with later in today’s lesson.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous lessons.
  • With students, use the vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to deconstruct the word norms (something that is usual, typical, or standard). Record on the academic word wall with translations in home languages, where appropriate ▲, and invite students to record in their vocabulary logs.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11 Excerpt - RL.6.3 (20 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Read aloud the selected excerpt, using Text Guide: The Lightning Thief (for teacher reference) for comprehension and vocabulary questions as needed. Students continue to record the gist on sticky notes, unpack and record unfamiliar vocabulary, and reflect on their reading as they choose. Refer to the following resources as appropriate to support this section of the lesson: Gist Record: The Lightning Thief anchor chart (example for teacher reference), vocabulary logs, chapter synopsis, and Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart.
  • Excerpt: Starting at page 178 "She whipped . . ." and ending at page 184 "'. . . It can still petrify you.'"
  • Gist: The trio goes to a garden store where they meet Aunty Em, or Medusa. She has the power to turn people to stone statues with her eyes. Medusa attacks them and Percy decapitates her, mailing her head back to Mount Olympus.
  • Ask:

"What challenge does Percy face in chapter 11?" (He encounters Medusa, who can turn people into stone with her eyes.)

"What is his response to that challenge?" (At first, Percy thinks the best of Aunty Em and doesn't see any signs of possible trouble. Once the trouble is revealed by Annabeth, however, Percy hides until Annabeth convinces him he can do something. He, with some difficulty, does finally act and is able to stop Medusa.)

"What might that reveal about this character?" (Percy lacks confidence in himself and seems to rely on his friends to help him. He wants to be helpful, but he doesn't always believe in himself. His success in this situation gives him some new confidence.)

"In what ways do or don't the characters demonstrate the habits of character?" (Percy and his friends show perseverance when they face Medusa and don't give up fighting her even though she is a powerful immortal.)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

B. Generate Discussion Norms - SL.6.1b (15 minutes)

  • Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can generate norms for a productive discussion."

  • Explain that students are going to participate in and then observe short discussions to help them think about possible norms for a productive discussion.
  • Direct students' attention to the prompt, and then read it aloud, reminding them that the lesson began with the word impertinent:

"At the end of chapter 11, Percy says, 'I am impertinent' (186-187)."

"Given your understanding of Percy over these eleven chapters, to what extent do you agree or disagree: Is Percy Jackson impertinent? Use several pieces of evidence from the text to support your response."

  • Guide students through an intentional, but quick, Think-Pair-Share, ensuring that partner A and partner B both have think time, both get to say the question aloud to the other, and both have an allocated time to respond and then to discuss to build deeper understanding.
  • Reconvene the whole group, and then facilitate an abbreviated and modified Socratic Seminar, by inviting the preselected small group of students to discuss the prompt in front of the rest of the class for about five minutes. Students who are observing should track what they notice and wonder about the discussion.
  • Socratic Seminar:
    1. Situate students physically creating an inner circle and an outer circle. The inner circle will engage in the discussion while the outer circle observes, preparing to provide specific and helpful feedback.
    2. Discussion with the open-ended question designed to provoke inquiry and diverse perspectives.
    3. All students should be involved and should make sure others in the group are drawn into the discussion.
    4. The discussion proceeds until you call time. At that time, the group debriefs its process. The outer circle members give their feedback to the inner group students.
  • Explain that, for the end of unit assessment, there will not be an inner and outer circle; this modification is being used for this lesson for the purpose of modeling the process and receiving feedback.
  • Invite students to share their responses to the following questions:

"What did the group do well when discussing? What did you and your partner do well when you were discussing the prompt? What should we be mindful of whenever we participate in group discussions? Why?"

  • As students share, capture their responses on the Discussion Norms anchor chart. Refer to Discussion Norms anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Continue having students reflect by asking the following:

"How could the group or you have improved the discussion? Are there any norms we could add to make our collaborative discussions more effective?"

  • As students share, capture their responses on the Discussion Norms anchor chart.
  • Explain that they'll continue to prepare for the discussion in the next lesson, and they'll continue to practice and build their understanding about effective discussion throughout the module.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • During Work Time B, provide a few short sentences that use the word norm in context. Build students' inductive learning abilities by encouraging pairs to develop working definitions of norm based on the way it is used in each sentence.

For Heavier Support

  • Some ELLs may find it useful to have additional representations to visualize and reinforce the discussion norms. Provide role-play opportunities using the cues and responses generated by the class.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Reflect on Academic Mindsets (5 minutes)

  • Incorporate reflection on and awareness of the following academic mindset: "My ability and competence grow with my effort."
  • Ask:

"What does competence mean, in your own words?" (the ability to do something successfully)

"Can you give an example when you put in effort and strengthened your competence in an area?" (Possible response: practicing a sport or musical instrument to become proficient.)

"What was the purpose of practicing and reflecting on a Socratic Seminar today?" (to get better at it so that we will be more successful, or competent, when we get to the assessment)

For Lighter Support

  • As students reflect on academic mindsets, invite them to notice possible affixes within the word competence. This will help students better integrate their language skills across different tasks and lessons.

For Heavier Support

  • N/A

Homework

Homework

A. Analyze Point of View

  • Students complete Homework: Lesson 13: Point of View: The Lightning Thief, Chapter 11.

B. Independent Research Reading

  • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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