Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• SL.6.3 – Opening A: Students examine the Performance Task Presentation checklist. They prepare to delineate the arguments and specific claims of their classmates during the performance task.
• SL.6.4 – Opening A: Students prepare to present the claims and findings of their focus figure research.
• W.6.3 – Work Time A: Students participate in a mini lesson aimed at helping them use appropriate and effective narrative writing techniques in their picture book pages.
• W.6.3 – Work Time B: Students continue to draft their narrative nonfiction picture book pages, using effective narrative techniques.
• W.6.4 – Work Time B: Students work with their crewmates to develop clear and coherent writing with attention to task, purpose, and audience.
• W.6.5 – Work Time B: With support from their crewmates, students continue to develop and strengthen writing through the process of planning and drafting their narrative nonfiction picture book pages.
• SL.6.5 – Work Time B: Students continue develop illustrations to clarify information in their picture book pages.
• W.6.3 – Closing and Assessment A: Students participate in a peer share of their narrative nonfiction picture book pages, noting the strengths and places for improvement in their classmates’ narrative nonfiction writing.
• W.6.5 – Closing and Assessment A: With guidance and support from their peers during the peer share, students strengthen their writing through revising and polishing.
• In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners, collaborating with their crewmates, taking initiative, and showing responsibility as they continue drafting the text and illustrations for their performance task.
• Previous modules have given students a more formal opportunity to revise and edit their performance task products. In this module, the lessons have been written to embed revision and editing throughout the process.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Time in this lesson has been allotted for a mini lesson on narrative techniques. Rather than reviewing one technique, set up stations with activities that review several narrative techniques. Invite students to rotate through the different stations to brush up on practice with punctuating dialogue, developing character traits, incorporating sensory language and descriptive detail, and/or “show, don’t tell.”
• Some students may experience frustration working with crewmates if they are used to taking the lead and have a specific vision of what the end product should be. Validate their feelings, and coach them to communicate with their peers in a way that motivates others, such as asking questions rather than making demands. Assign them other parts of the book creation process over which they can have full control, such as adding a timeline, foreword, photographs, or cover art.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• Throughout the second half of this unit, students have been analyzing model narrative nonfiction texts and incorporating the elements of this genre into their original stories about a key individual in space science who is worthy of recognition. Students have worked in triads to compose the text and design the illustrations for their section of the class book on this topic. In this lesson, students continue this work, keeping in mind the specific criteria on which they will be assessed—their ability to orally present their argument that their focus figure’s achievements are truly remarkable.

Support All Students

• Encourage a sense of celebration around the creation of the performance task. Students may lose momentum as they reach the conclusion of the module. Remind them that the purpose of this activity is not to earn a grade but rather learning for learning’s sake. Emphasize the authenticity of the task by making connections to professions that require the skills students are honing by working on this task.
• ELLs may be especially concerned that the language of their performance task materials is used correctly. Help students locate and remedy language errors that affect overall clarity of ideas, while also reminding students that language errors are okay and that they will not be formally assessed on this assignment. ▲
• Encourage students to set small, individualized goals for their performance in the presentation of their books, specifically in the argument they are proposing through their narrative nonfiction text. Provide index cards or sticky notes for them to record their personal stars and steps for their portion of the assignment.

Assessment Guidance

• The performance tasks at the end of every module are neither formative nor summative assessments. For these reasons, it is recommended that performance tasks be evaluated only through the lens of the attributes of high-quality student work (authenticity, complexity, and craftsmanship).
• Remind students that they are not being assessed on the quality or content of their contribution to the class anthology of focus figures. Rather, the End of Unit 3 Assessment requires students to trace and evaluate the arguments being made through the narrative nonfiction stories. Students will practice these skills in Lessons 5 and 10, using the same note-catchers they will use during the assessment in Lessons 15–16.
• To demonstrate evidence of SL.6.4, each student will need to take responsibility for at least one of the four main parts of the presentation: introduction, reason 1, reason 2, or conclusion.
• Require students to use at least one of the sentence frames provided in Closing and Assessment A to assess SL.6.2.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will finish their books and rehearse their presentations in preparation for the End of Unit 3 Assessment, for which students will 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. While each crew is presenting, students in the audience will delineate their classmates’ arguments, citing the textual evidence used to support their claims.