Analyze Author’s Purpose and Point of View: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M4:U1:L10

Analyze Author’s Purpose and Point of View: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RI.7.2, RI.7.6, SL.7.1

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RI.7.4, L.7.4
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can determine two or more central ideas and analyze their development over the course of Trash Vortex. (RI.7.2)
  • I can determine an author's point of view and purpose in Trash Vortex. (RI.7.6)
  • I can analyze how the author of Trash Vortex distinguishes her position from that of others. (RI.7.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 10 (RI.7.6)
  • Work Time B: Author's Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher (RI.7.2, RI.7.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - RI.7.6 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read and Analyze Central Ideas - RI.7.2 (20 minutes)

B. Analyze Purpose and Point of View - RI.7.6 (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Discuss Big Ideas - SL.7.1 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Analyze Point of View and Purpose: Students answer selected and constructed response questions about the central ideas and the author's purpose and point of view to complete Homework: Analyze Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3.

B. Preread Anchor Text: Students preread pages 44-49 of Trash Vortex in preparation for studying an excerpt from the chapter in the next lesson. Students use context and, if necessary, a dictionary to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in pages 44-49 of Trash Vortex. Then they record the words and their definitions in the correct section of their vocabulary log.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RI.7.6 – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students choose a picture or graphic in the book and explain how it supports the author’s purpose in the text.
  • RI.7.2 – Work Time A: Students read and analyze an excerpt of Trash Vortex, chapter 3, focusing on determining the gist and analyzing the development of central ideas.
  • RI.7.6 – Work Time B: Students analyze an excerpt of chapter 3 to determine the author’s point of view and purpose.
  • SL.7.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Students engage in a small group collaborative discussion about big ideas raised in Trash Vortex.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners by persevering to read and analyze complex text and collaborating to discuss and answer questions together as a class and in small groups.
  • The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of the EL Education curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.
  • In the excerpt of Trash Vortex read in this lesson, the scientists studying plastic in the ocean contribute to a better world by improving the environment. They are trying to understand where the plastic comes from and what they can do to reduce it.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Encourage students to design their own note-catcher by examining the learning targets and considering how best to record their analysis of the central ideas and the author’s point of view and purpose.
  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. For example: 
    • Allow those students who are identifying the gist and other elements more quickly the opportunity to develop their own text-dependent questions about the chapter, related to structure. Ask these students to share their questions with the group as a way of generating discussion.
    • Encourage those students who finish reading the text more quickly to examine one of the images in the chapter and respond in writing either by writing a letter, paragraph, short story, or poem. Students can consider different perspectives as they write their own as viewer or narrator and that of the people or animals in the image.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In previous lessons, students have been reading and analyzing Trash Vortex, focusing on the development of the central ideas and the author’s purpose in certain questions.

Support All Students

  • At this point, students should be reading the text independently. However, if some or all students need more support, read several pages aloud and then release students to read independently, in pairs, or in small groups.
  • This chapter describes plastic pollution and its many harmful effects on the environment, animals, and people It includes images and descriptions of dead or suffering animals and children working in a landfill. Monitor students to determine if there are issue surfacing as a result of the content that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually. To support students in processing this content, ask: “What habit of character did you use as you read and discussed this excerpt?” Students may need to draw on perseverance, empathy, and compassion as they read and discuss this content, being sensitive to their own and others’ reactions to the information.
  • Additionally, in this lesson’s Closing and Assessment, students are given the opportunity to discuss the issues surrounding plastic pollution. Students who need further processing opportunities can make posters or slide presentations to convey what they have learned. The act of creating will help them to further process the information.
  • Encourage students to recall their experience with A Plastic Ocean to help them understand the context for the subjects discussed in the text. If time allows, allow students to rewatch clips from the documentary to help illuminate related concepts. ▲
  • Note there is a differentiated version of the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher used in Work Time B in the separate Teacher’s Guide for English Language Learners. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catchers to ensure students understand how the author develops central ideas as well as the purpose and point of view of different sections of the text.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will read and analyze chapter 3 of Trash Vortex, continuing to focus their analysis on the development of central ideas and determining the author’s point of view and purpose as well as how the author distinguishes her position from that of others.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 9 at each student's workspace.
  • Preread chapter 3 of Trash Vortex.
  • Designate small groups for students to analyze Trash Vortex.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.B.5, 7.I.B.6, and 7.I.C.10.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson provides students the opportunity to work in small groups to identify the central ideas and analyze the author's point of view and purpose in Trash Vortex. This is a gradual release from the whole-class analysis but still offers students peer support.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to gradually release from teacher-led, whole-class work to small group analysis of the central ideas and the author's point of view and purpose. If so, draw these students together into a small group and work with them to analyze the text. This provides support as needed, but also allows these students to work at their own pace with sufficient reading and processing time.

Vocabulary

  • distinguish, gauging, infrastructure (A)
  • insecticide, position, zooplankton (DS)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening A) 
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Domain-specific word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Text Guide: Trash Vortex (for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 8, Work Time A)
  • Gists: Trash Vortex (example for teacher reference) (from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 8, Work Time A
  • Author's Purpose anchor chart (one for display; from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 8, Opening A)
  • Discussion Norms anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 13, Work Time C)
  • Vocabulary log (from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Trash Vortex by Danielle Smith-Llera (one per student) (from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 8, Opening A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 10 (example for teacher reference)
  • Author's Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher (example for teacher reference)
  • Homework: Analyze Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 (answers for teacher reference) (see Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 10 (one per student)
  • Blank paper (one piece per student)
  • Drawing utensils (colored pencils, crayons, markers) (several per student)
  • Synopsis: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 (one per student)
  • Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher (one per student)
  • Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher ▲
  • Homework: Analyze Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 (one per student; see Homework Resources)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner - RI.7.6 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 10.
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique to review their responses.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar to or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • For the entrance ticket in Opening A, ensure students understand the tasks and challenge them to complete them independently and then share with a partner to confirm and correct their responses.

For Heavier Support

  • For the entrance ticket in Opening A, ensure students understand the tasks and can work with a partner to first share their responses orally and then in writing.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read and Analyze Central Ideas – RI.7.2 (20 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can determine two or more central ideas and analyze their development over the course of Trash Vortex.”

  • Distribute blank paper and drawing utensils, and ask students to form triads. Each student in the triad rereads and is responsible for several pages of chapter 3, which was read for homework. Student 1 reads pages 36–38 (from “Scientists gauging the amount of plastic” to “It’s that simple”), student 2 reads pages 38–41 (from “Seafood, whether eaten raw or cooked” to “make purchasing decisions that are more studied and less wasteful”), and student 3 reads pages 41–43 (from “In the United States” to “communities far upstream as well”). As students read, they create an image that expresses central ideas and key details from their section. For example, the student reading the first excerpt could sketch a diagram of the food chain, showing how plastic ends up on our dinner plates and include the central ideas and key details in text boxes along the chain.
  • As students read, circulate and use the Text Guide: Trash Vortex (for teacher reference) as necessary. If students do not finish reading the excerpt within the allotted time, use the Synopsis: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 document to review the key details from the excerpt.
  • After students finish sharing their images, ask them to Think-Triad-Share:

“What habits of character did you see in this excerpt? Who demonstrated them? What did they look/sound like?” (Possible response: In the excerpt of Trash Vortex read in this lesson, the scientists studying plastic in the ocean contribute to a better world by improving the environment. They are trying to understand where the plastic comes from and what they can do to reduce it.)

  • Distribute the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher and the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher ▲ as necessary. The differentiated note-catcher supports students’ comprehension and writing with sentence starters. ▲ Then invite students to work in their triads to share their images, the central ideas, and the key details. Triads should synthesize all the central ideas from the chapter and record this information on their note-catchers. Circulate and support students as necessary by asking the following questions:

“What is the gist of this excerpt?” (Plastic is found all over the ocean; we need to find new ways to stop plastic getting into the ocean.) As necessary, consult the Gists: Trash Vortex (example for teacher reference) document.

“What are the central ideas in this excerpt?” (Three central ideas are that plastic can move through the food chain in the ocean and affect a lot of animals; that when people eat seafood, they also eat the plastic and the harmful chemicals it attracts; and that a lot of plastic comes into the ocean because it is not properly disposed of.) If students have trouble identifying the central ideas, ask: “What big ideas does the author want us to know about how plastic travels through the food chain and how it gets into the ocean?” ▲

“What are some of the ways the author develops the central ideas in this excerpt?” (The author quotes scientists to explain how plastic travels up the food chain. She describes a video of a zooplankton eating a tiny piece of plastic and quotes Richard Kirby stating, “Here was something, visually, to convey to the public the problem of plastic in the sea.” The author also uses experts to explain how trash gets into the ocean in the first place. Matt Prindville is quoted as saying that “we have rivers of plastic that are literally flowing into the ocean” because the plastic is not taken care of. The author includes statistics to develop this central idea, explaining that “trucks dump 6,890 tons” of trash into just one landfill.) If students have trouble identifying the details, ask: “What important details, facts, or examples does the author use to tell us about how plastic travels through the food chain and how it gets into the ocean?” ▲

  • For more examples, see the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher (example for teacher reference).

For Lighter Support

  • For the triad activity in Work Time A, ensure that students understand that the purpose of the activity is to read the excerpt and identify the central ideas and supporting details. Understanding the purpose of an activity enhances engagement and success.
  • During Work Time A as time allows, students can continue their work from the Language Dive in Lesson 7 by spending some time identifying different types of sentences in the excerpt from Trash Vortex. They can share these examples with each other and with their classmates who need heavier support, identifying the type of sentence and function in the excerpt.

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Time A and B, invite students to use the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher ▲. This resource features sentence starters that support students with comprehension and writing.
  • For the triad activity in Work Time A, students may need additional support reading the excerpt and identifying the central ideas. If so, partner them with a student of similar language proficiency so the two can work through the excerpt and create an image together. Then they can support each other in presenting their work to their small group.

B. Analyze Purpose and Point of View - RI.7.6 (10 minutes)

  • Review appropriate learning targets relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can determine an author's point of view and purpose in Trash Vortex."

"I can analyze how the author of Trash Vortex distinguishes her position from that of others."

  • Inform students that they will now work in pairs to focus on purpose and point of view in this excerpt.
  • Direct students' attention to the Author's Purpose anchor chart, and invite students to discuss with their partner the author's overall purpose for the excerpt. Remind students to refer to the anchor chart as well as add detail about a specific topic. Invite students to Think-Pair-Share about the overall purpose of this excerpt. (To explain how plastic affects animals in the ocean and how plastic gets into the ocean in the first place.)
  • Inform students that they will now focus on the author's purpose and points of view for specific parts of the excerpt. Direct students' attention to the paragraph on page 42 beginning "Cheap, single-use plastic products flood into the Philippines." Reread this paragraph aloud. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What is the purpose of this paragraph in the text overall?" (To explain that plastic products are a particular problem when they reach countries that are unable to dispose of them properly.)

"What is the author's point of view about the plastics coming into these countries? What key details help you understand the author's point of view?" (The author thinks it is a problem that all this plastic goes to these countries. She uses the word "flood" as well as the image and information about children working on the trash heaps to support her point of view.)

  • Explain to students that although the author doesn't include conflicting viewpoints in this paragraph, she does use the perspective of others who agree with her to support her position. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"How does the author support her point of view about plastic goods flowing into countries like 'the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka'?" (The author quotes an expert who agrees with her that the "flood of plastic" is a problem. "It's really about fairness," Matt Prindiville says. "When consumer goods companies sell all of their products" to countries that cannot dispose of it or recycle it properly, "we have rivers of plastic that are literally flowing into the ocean." The author uses his quotes to support her own point of view.)

  • Invite students to add these notes to their note-catchers. Ensure students understand that in this excerpt, the author doesn't distinguish her point of view from others but rather uses others' points of view to support her own.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • N/A

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Time A and B, invite students to use the Author’s Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 note-catcher ▲. This resource features sentence starters that support students with comprehension and writing.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Discuss Big Ideas – SL.7.1 (10 minutes)

  • Invite students to join with another partnership to form small groups. Post the following questions, and ask students to discuss them in their groups, using evidence from their note-catchers and from chapter 3 of Trash Vortex to support their responses. Ask groups to designate a note-taker to record student responses and a speaker to share the group’s responses with the class. Remind students to show respect, empathy, and compassion as they follow the classroom rules for collegial discussion. They will also take initiative as they participate in a discussion. Refer to the Discussion Norms anchor chart as necessary to review discussion norms and guidelines.
  • If silent discussion is preferable, direct students to record their responses to the questions on a piece of paper and pass that paper to another student in the group, adding ideas each time the paper is passed. Use the questions below for further silent discussion. ▲

“Why exactly is plastic so dangerous to life in the oceans? Why is it so hard to stop plastic from going into the ocean?” (Plastic is so dangerous because animals in the ocean eat the plastic. The plastic often contains other chemicals, and it travels up the food chain as more animals consume it, eventually leading to us. It is so difficult to stop plastic from flowing into the ocean because there is so much of it and not all of it is disposed of properly or recycled. It can also be very small and get into the ocean through being washed or rinsed.)

  • To guide discussion, ask or post the following smaller questions:

“Why are scientists concerned about not being able to find all the plastic in the ocean?” (They are concerned because it means that they do not know where the plastic is. They are worried that it has “already washed up on beaches, sunk to the seafloor, or been eaten” [36].)

“Why does the author talk about the food chain in the chapter?” (The author talks about the food chain to explain how microplastic is eaten by tiny organisms and then travels up the food chain to larger organisms. Eventually, we end up eating this plastic.)

“How does plastic get into the ocean?” (Most of the plastic gets into the ocean from the land, coming from landfills that are not properly built to contain it. This plastic gets into rivers or other bodies of water and eventually into the ocean. Tiny pieces of plastic can also come from clothes being washed and other sources.)

  • After students have had several minutes to discuss these questions in their groups, ask for the designated speakers to share out their responses.
  • Before leaving class, ensure students have their copies of Trash Vortex to complete the homework.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • In Closing and Assessment A, ensure that students are strategically grouped to best support them. This may mean mixed groupings by language or content proficiency. However, since groups include about four students, ensure that there are two students from each level and no more than one level of difference among the students in a group. Strategic grouping affords students the opportunity of supporting and being challenged by others.

For Heavier Support

  • As in the lighter support, for Closing and Assessment A, ensure that students are strategically grouped to best support them. In addition to the lighter supports, consider grouping students who need heavier support by home language.

Homework

HomeworkLevels of Support

A. Analyze Point of View and Purpose

  • Students answer selected and constructed response questions about the central ideas and the author's purpose and point of view to complete Homework: Analyze Point of View and Purpose: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3.

B. Preread Anchor Text

  • Students preread pages 44-49 of Trash Vortex in preparation for studying an excerpt from the chapter in the next lesson. Students also use context and if necessary a dictionary to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in pages 44-49 of Trash Vortex. Then they record the words and their definitions in the correct section of their vocabulary log.

For Lighter Support

  • Consider whether students still need to work with the Synopsis: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3 or whether they are ready to be released into prereading the text without this support. Some students may still need this support for the prereading outside of class. Some may want to quickly skim the synopsis just before reading in class, and some may be ready to forgo this support altogether. This gradual release may happen on a student-by-student basis and may occur as the result of students' self-assessment.

For Heavier Support

  • Provide students with the Synopsis: Trash Vortex, Chapter 3, and ask them to highlight the key individuals, events, and ideas in the text once they have completed their prereading. (Underline indicates how the support is being modified to gradually release students to more independence.) Then they can take note or make sketches in the margins of the synopsis to convey the gist of each section. Doing so after reading is a gradual release from the support they used up to this point but will still confirm their comprehension of the complex text.

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