Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• RI.6.1 – Work Time A: Students conduct online research to gather information about the Greek god or goddess of their choosing. Students read informational texts about this figure, using textual evidence to support their ideas about what they read.
• RI.6.7 – Work Time A: While researching their Greek god or goddess, students engage with information presented in different media or formats and integrate them, compiling their learning on a note-catcher.
• W.6.7 – Work Time A: Students conduct a short research project, drawing on several sources to gather information about a Greek god or goddess.
• W.6.8 – Work Time A: As students conduct research, they gather relevant information from multiple sources and paraphrase their conclusions on a note-catcher.
• W.6.9b – Work Time A: Students apply Grade 6 Reading standards to literary nonfiction as they conduct independent research.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Challenge students to use multiple sources to gather information. Use this research opportunity to address W.6.8 by teaching students how to assess the credibility of an online source, and provide bibliographic information in MLA format.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In Lesson 1, students revisited the expectations for the Module 1 Performance Task, part of which includes the narrative they will write for the End of Unit 3 Assessment. This narrative, in which they reimagine a scene from The Lightning Thief, incorporates a new character: a child of a Greek god or goddess. In this lesson, students research the parent god or goddess in preparation for creating their new character.

Support All Students

• Note that the opportunity to conduct research engages students with a variety of modalities and access points supporting multiple intelligences, aligning with the multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement that are part of Universal Design for Learning.
• Some students, and ELLs in particular, may need additional support as they conduct independent research. Provide specific suggestions for Greek gods to research as a way to support students’ research. Recommended websites to visit for information are provided on the note-catcher. One site in particular, http://eled.org/0130, is best suited for students who struggle, because the text is less dense and the headings are very similar to the ones on the note-catcher. ▲
• Keep in mind that some students and their families may find the premise of this assignment in conflict with their religious or cultural views. ▲ Create a safe space for students to approach with their concerns, and be prepared with alternative ways for students to complete the assessment. Students may choose a different historic or traditional figure to research and on which to base their character (e.g., Superman, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Oprah Winfrey). Guide students in their choice for an alternative figure by asking 1) Can you conduct substantial research on this person; and 2) What powers or special abilities would the character inherit from this person?

Assessment Guidance

• Review student summaries after the lesson to check whether they are on the right track. Use common issues as teaching points for the whole group in the next lesson.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students complete the mid-unit assessment, in which they practice determining a central idea of a text and writing a summary, as they have done in previous lessons.
• Be prepared to return students’ End of Unit 2 Assessments with feedback at the start of the next lesson.