Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• SL.6.3 – Work Time A: Students delineate the arguments and specific claims presented by their classmates.
• SL.6.4 – Work Time A: Students present their arguments and claims to peers, sequencing their ideas logically; using relevant descriptions, facts, and details to highlight main ideas; and demonstrating appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
• SL.6.4 – Work Time B: Students give feedback to their peers about their presentation of their arguments and claims, sequencing of ideas logically; using relevant descriptions, facts, and details to highlight main ideas; and demonstrating appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
• SL.6.1d – Closing and Assessment A: Students participate in a discussion to review and reflect upon key learning from the focus figure argument essays.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Students who chose to complete the anchor text in its entirety and read about the fourth hidden figure, Christine Darden, should be encouraged to make connections to her work during the reflection discussion in Closing and Assessment A.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• Students have collaborated with a partner to write an argument essay focused on a hidden figure featured in the anchor text, either Mary Jackson or Katherine Johnson. They practiced presenting their own arguments and delineating and evaluating those of their groupmates. They then wrote an independent argument about the focus figure they researched. In this lesson, they present their independent arguments and delineate and evaluate their peers’ arguments.

Support All Students

• The Peer Assessment task of Work Time A invites students to evaluate their classmates’ presentations and identify general stars and steps. Some students might focus on presentation-related skills like pronunciation, which could feel threatening or alienating for ELLs, especially those who feel self-conscious about the way their English sounds. As needed, remind the whole group that “clear pronunciation” does not mean accent-free speech and that, as a matter of fact, accent-free speech does not exist! Everyone speaks with an accent, and accents are an important part of who we are. Provide suggestions and examples for evaluating presentations that do not disadvantage ELLs; for example, focus on logical sequence of ideas, eye contact, or enunciation. ▲
• Review the directions for the Present, Delineate, and Evaluate Argument activity several times to ensure clarity. Remove extra rows or columns on the assignment matrix for students who may be overwhelmed by too much information.

Assessment Guidance

• During Work Time A, circulate among the groups, and use the appropriate Speaking and Listening checklist (informal assessment) to formatively assess the students during this lesson for their ability to present an argument (SL.6.4) not already assessed during Lesson 5. Students can be formatively assessed on SL.6.3 in this lesson by collecting and reviewing their completed Present and Delineate Argument: Independent Essay handout.
• During Closing and Assessment A, use the Speaking and Listening checklist (informal assessment) to formatively assess SL.6.1d, especially for any students not assessed in Lesson 5.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students begin work on their performance task, working with their crewmates to create pages about their independent focus figures for a collaborative children’s book.