Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• RL.6.6 – Opening A: Students add to their Analyze Point of View: Two Roads note-catcher handouts with information about characters’ points of view in chapter 12 of the text.
• RL.6.1 – Work Time A: After reading chapters 13 and 14 of Two Roads, students answer questions about the text, using textual evidence to support their analysis of figurative language and point of view.
• RL.6.6 – Work Time A: Students answer questions about how similes used in the text convey Cal’s point of view toward his own experiences.
• L.6.5a – Work Time A: Students identify and interpret similes used in chapter 14.
• L.6.5c – Work Time A: Students interpret the connotations of the vocabulary used in the similes of chapter 14.
• RL.6.1 – Work Time B: Using textual evidence to support their ideas, students analyze Possum’s speech in the text and add to their Analyze Language: Possum note-catchers.
• RL.6.3 – Work Time B: Students examine Possum’s language use as a way to analyze how Possum responds to his environment and develops throughout the text.
• L.6.1e – Work Time B: Students analyze the language varieties used by Possum in the text, specifically examining the way in which his speech changes according to his audience and his subject.
• RL.6.3 – Closing and Assessment A: Students analyze and describe Possum’s character in the text.
• L.6.1e – Closing and Assessment A: Students use Possum’s use of language varieties to make inferences about his character in the text.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Students may use the character window activity from Lesson 2 to further analyze Possum’s character using other criteria besides his speech variety. Students may use previous chapters to find more examples to support character analysis.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the previous lesson, students read chapter 12 in their anchor text and worked in pairs to review character development, point of view, and how specific sections fit into the overall structure of a text.

Support All Students

• In chapter 13, Pop and Cal witness the discipline of a "recalcitrant" at Challagi (148): the student is locked in a small, dark room for an undisclosed number of days. This passage, though brief, may be upsetting for students. They may also feel distressed by the idea that Pop would feel comfortable leaving Cal in this environment. Encourage students, in writing or in small groups, to speculate about the reasons underlying Pop's decision.
• In preparation for the End of Unit 1 Assessment, students participate in an activity that asks them to notice how Possum's speech changes based on the person to whom he is speaking (L.6.1e). It is critical to point out to students that, although some varieties of English may be preferred in certain (i.e., academic) environments, no language variety is "better" than another. ▲
• In Work Time B, one of the examples provided in the sentence strips is purposely ambiguous. Language choices are influenced by several factors that change and conflict all the time. The lesson validates students’ use of language varieties, as well as encourages students to be flexible and adaptable in their language use. Facilitate further discussion around the ambiguous quote. Allow students to explore the reasons why the quote could be directed to a friend or an adult of authority.
• Code-switching will likely be a familiar phenomenon to students who speak more than one language or language variety. Invite students to share examples of code-switching from their own lives. ▲
• It may be more difficult for ELLs to recognize linguistic differences in Possum's utterances, impeding their ability to successfully complete the code-switching activity. Consider ways to guide ELLs' attention to specific examples. This can be done through strategically grouping low- and high-proficiency students together. Additionally, consider asking more pointed questions that highlight examples of language variation more clearly (e.g., “What people do we usually address as 'sir'?”). ▲

Assessment Guidance

• Collect the Analyze Language: Possum note-catcher to review student progress on character analysis through language variation analysis.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will read chapter 15 of the anchor text. Students will continue to gather evidence to determine how a character responds and changes based on challenges faced. Students will also be introduced to intensive pronouns and will practice identifying and correctly using intensive pronouns.