Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• RI.6.7 – Work Time A: Students continue to add to the Design Solution: William note-catcher, integrating information about William from multiple sources.
• W.6.8 – Work Time A: Students continue to gather information from multiple sources on their Design Solution: William note-catchers.
• SL.6.2 – Work Time A: Students interpret information from diverse media and formats on their Design Solution: William note-catchers.
• RI.6.1 – Work Time B: Students participate in a text-based discussion about The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, using textual evidence to support their analysis of what the text says.
• SL.6.1a – Work Time B: Students participate in a text-based discussion, drawing upon their preparation in past lessons.
• SL.6.1b – Work Time B: Students participate in a text-based discussion, following rules for a collegial discussion.
• SL.6.1b – Closing and Assessment A: Students complete a QuickWrite in which they debrief the text-based discussion of Work Time B, reflecting on their goals.
• In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristics that students practice are respect, empathy, and compassion as they participate in a text-based discussion.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Students who are capable of multitasking may enjoy collecting data during the discussion by mapping the conversation. Explain that mapping a discussion means to create a visual representation of the flow of the conversation, with all participants’ names indicating their position in the room and arrows to track the sequence of contributions. Mapping a conversation includes adding notes about how the students participated and highlighting what they did well in both the content they added to the discussion and their use of the discussion norms. If multiple students participate in this protocol, they could compare their maps and their insights at the conclusion of the discussion.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the previous lesson, students prepared for this discussion by completing relevant parts of the Design Solution: William note-catcher with evidence from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and the other supplementary materials to answer the prompt, “What critical problems does William face? What makes them critical?”

Support All Students

• Chapter 10 refers to disparities in opportunity for boys and girls in Malawi. One passage on page 170 is especially deserving of scrutiny: “At least with daughters, a Malawian father can hope they’ll marry a husband who can provide a home and food and help them continue their schooling. But with a boy, it was different. My education meant everything to my father.” Also, on page 175, William describes forbidding his sisters "from even entering [his] room to sweep and mop." If time allows, encourage students to challenge, in writing or aloud with partners, the sexism underlying these attitudes about the expectations of girls versus boys.
• ELLs may feel especially nervous to participate in a formal class discussion. Help them recognize the ways in which they have prepared themselves to answer this question over the course of the unit and especially during the last two lessons. Remind them that this is not an assessment, but rather an opportunity to collaborate with classmates and practice for a similar discussion in the End of Unit 3 Assessment. ▲

Assessment Guidance

• Consider using the Collaborative Discussion checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources) to provide students feedback and prepare them for the End of Unit 3 Assessment.
• Prepare for the facilitation of this lesson by mentally running through a mock discussion, asking questions such as, “What responses do I actually expect students to give?” Prepare a list of a few prompting questions to spark engagement if the conversation lulls during the mock discussion.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will commence Unit 2 of this module, in which they analyze the development of a character and identify themes in a text.