Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• L.6.4b – Opening A: Students complete an entrance ticket in which they break down a word (assimilate) into its affixes and use the affixes to generate a definition of the word.
• SL.6.1d – Work Time A: After listening to the Captain Pratt speech excerpt read aloud, students review its key ideas and share reflections about its purpose and audience.
• RI.6.1 – Work Time B: Students use textual evidence from a transcript of Captain Pratt’s speech to answer questions about the speech excerpt on their Analyze Point of View: Captain Pratt note-catchers.
• RI.6.2 – Work Time B: Students identify and describe key ideas in the Captain Pratt speech excerpt on their note-catchers.
• RI.6.6 – Work Time B: Students complete their Analyze Point of View: Captain Pratt note-catchers, answering questions about Pratt’s point of view, including how it is conveyed through specific words in the speech.
• SL.6.1c – Work Time B: Students participate in a Final Word protocol to pose and respond to questions during a discussion of Captain Pratt’s speech.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• This module has been designed to avoid assigning independent research reading for homework on the same evenings when students are prereading the next chapter in their anchor text. Proficient readers may be ready to begin their independent reading prior to this lesson. They could then be asked to prepare a Book Talk or other presentation of their reading for this lesson to promote excitement amongst their peers for the independent reading book selection.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• The Independent Research Reading assignment is critical for building background knowledge and domain-specific vocabulary on the module topic. Over the next three lessons, students read supplemental informational texts to begin understanding the context for the novel. As American Indian boarding schools are often neglected in narratives of American history, students will likely need to complete extensive outside reading to best understand the module topic.

Support All Students

• Students read an excerpt from Captain Richard H. Pratt's infamous speech as a way to better understand the vitriolic attitudes fueling the development of American Indian boarding schools. The content of Pratt's speech is important for students to understand, as it directly relates to the guiding question, What were the objectives of early American Indian boarding schools? Still, Pratt's language is harsh and violent. It includes lines like "the only good Indian is a dead one" and describes the "savagery" of both American Indians and African-Americans. Another line describes the assimilation of "foreigners" to the United States. Allow students to voice their concern or express their outrage. In later lessons, encourage critical thinking by asking students to speculate as to why Pop, who loves Cal and who has himself attended an American Indian boarding school, might choose to send Cal to a school like this. A Turn and Talk protocol and discussion about the author's purpose give students an additional opportunity to explore their feelings about the text.
• Although the supplemental text is short, it contains complex vocabulary that is likely to be challenging for all students, though especially so for ELLs. Support developing readers by annotating the supplemental text before distributing it (e.g., using glossed keywords, highlights of key sentences, a short summary in the margin). ▲
• Additionally, if time allows, consider asking students to read this passage more than once, with a different task each time (e.g., to understand the gist, to ask questions, to locate unknown vocabulary). Rereading the same passage for multiple purposes helps students become more confident and versatile readers. ▲

Assessment Guidance

• The speech by Captain Pratt analyzed in this lesson is a great example of the benefit of reading and rereading a text. Students, and perhaps even proficient readers, will need to read the text through several times before the central idea becomes clear. Push students not to attempt to understand every word, especially not in the first reading. Point out that Pratt often uses several sentences to capture a single idea. Read the text straight through once before chunking the text into these individual ideas.
• The Independent Research Reading assignment launched in this lesson continues throughout the rest of the module. Students read consistently each night for 20 minutes and answer a prompt of their choosing. From time to time, they will use class time to debrief what they are reading and how it connects to the module topic.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will read another supplemental informational text, a primary source from a student who attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Students continue to practice RI.6.6 by analyzing a different author’s point of view and how it is conveyed through her personal narrative.
• The independent reading assignment launched in this lesson is referred to throughout this and subsequent modules. Students have an opportunity to share their research reading in Unit 1 Lesson 14, Unit 2 Lesson 8, and Unit 3 Lesson 6.