Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• RI.6.1 – Opening A: Students are introduced to the Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher. This is the resource students will use to collect textual evidence to support arguments about the text as they write collaborative essays in Unit 3.
• RI.6.3 – Work Time A: After students read a chapter about hidden figure Mary Jackson, they answer questions about how Margot Lee Shetterly develops Mary’s character in the chapter.
• RI.6.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Students add to their Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher with evidence from the text.
• W.6.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Students gather relevant evidence and use clear reasons to support claims that they will elaborate on in an argument essay in Unit 3.
• W.6.9b – Closing and Assessment A: Students gather relevant evidence from the anchor text to support their claims.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Students read an excerpt from chapter 15. Proficient readers can be encouraged to read the chapter in its entirety. Students may be particularly intrigued by the incident described in pages 119–121, which could be used to provoke a mature and thoughtful conversation around respectability politics.
• Rather than giving students the Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher, challenge them to design their own note-catcher. Prompt them to think aloud about what information needs to be captured, what format best captures that information, and how the layout of the graphic organizer helps to reflect the connection among the information displayed.
• Challenge students to generate their own arguments about playful, noncontroversial topics. Provide students with a straightforward claim, and give them 2 minutes to generate reasons, evidence, and reasoning for their claim. This exercise will reinforce students’ understanding of terms related to argument writing, while also orienting them to their argument work in an engaging way. Examples of claims may include the following:
• Soccer is the most physically and mentally demanding sport.
• Social media limits, rather than supports, interpersonal connection.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the previous lesson, students concluded their reading about hidden figure Dorothy Vaughan. They read two texts about Dorothy that describe similar events, and they compared the authors’ presentations of those events. In this lesson, students increase the breadth of their content knowledge by “discovering” a new hidden figure: Mary Jackson. Students will apply reading strategies and skills from the first half of Unit 2 to the new chapters about Mary, this time with increased independence. A Jigsaw protocol encourages student ownership of reading material and holds students accountable for their assigned chapters.

Support All Students

• In Lessons 9, 12, and 14, students will participate in a Jigsaw protocol to read chapters about hidden figures Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson. Jigsaws ease the reading load for all students and create opportunities for regular collaboration and co-construction of meaning, both of which support ELLs. ▲
• During the Jigsaw of Work Time B, Group A reads chapter 11 and Group B reads an excerpt of chapter 14. An excerpt from chapter 11 will then be reread and analyzed in more detail in the following lesson. Consider assigning ELLs who need heavier support to Group A, so that they may benefit from the comprehension and fluency gains that come from reading the same passage multiple times for distinct purposes. ▲
• Chapter 11 describes an incident of profound prejudice. Mary Jackson, looking for the nearest bathroom, is laughed at by white coworkers, who only know where “their” bathrooms are (i.e., those available to white, but not black, women). This display of discrimination and cruelty is enraging to Mary and may also be upsetting to students. As needed, create space for students to process their feelings toward this part of the text in a responsible and sensitive way. Inform students that they will return to this section of the text in the following lesson. They will examine this event in more detail, from multiple authors’ perspectives. There will also be built-in reflection time for students to process the impact of this event for Mary. For students who are particularly upset at the incident described in the text, and who do not want it glossed over in class, it may be a relief to know that there will be more time to discuss Mary’s experiences and feelings.

Assessment Guidance

• In this lesson, students are introduced to the Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher. Throughout Unit 2, students will periodically add to this note-catcher with textual evidence to prepare for writing their collaborative argument essays in Unit 3. Although this note-catcher will eventually be used to help students write collaborative argument essays in pairs, students will complete their note-catchers independently. Students’ independent argument essays address a similar prompt and require similar evidence. To set students up for success on these essays, review students’ initial entries on their Collaborative Argument Evidence note-catcher, and ensure that recorded textual evidence is appropriate, relevant, and comprehensive.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students continue to develop their knowledge of hidden figure Mary Jackson. They read a new passage about Mary from the anchor text, which outlines an important event in Mary’s life. Then, they read a supplemental text that describes the same event, but from a different author’s perspective. In preparation for the tasks of the end of unit assessment, and to build upon skills first targeted in Lesson 8, students compare and contrast the two authors’ presentations of the same event.