Create a Documentary Clip: Combine Leads | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M4:U3:L3

Create a Documentary Clip: Combine Leads

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • W.7.5, W.7.7, W.7.8, L.7.3a

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.

  • W.7.3, W.7.4, L.7.6
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can work with my peers to strengthen the narrative lead of our documentary script. (W.7.5)
  • I can choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. (L.7.3a)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 (L.7.3a)
  • Work Time A: Documentary Script lead (W.7.3, W.7.5)
  • Closing and Assessment A: Documentary Script planner (W.7.7, W.7.8, SL.7.4)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - L.7.3a (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Combine Narrative Leads - W.7.5 (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Work on Action Plan - W.7.7, W.7.8 (20 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Continue Action Plan: Students continue to work on their personal action plans. Students record their plans, research, and actions they've taken in their action plan journal, including at least one new note in the final research or results section.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • L.7.3a – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students use strategies to define unknown words and then paraphrase a characteristic of effective writing. Students use their new knowledge of the criteria to identify parts of their narrative leads that need to be revised for precision, concision, wordiness, or redundancy.
  • W.7.5 – Work Time A: Students work in their triads to combine their ideas for narrative leads to create one strong narrative lead.
  • W.7.7 – Closing and Assessment A: Students work in triads to further their action plan with research by drawing on several sources to explore an issue or idea.
  • W.7.8 – Closing and Assessment A: Students work in triads to further their action plan with research by gathering relevant information from multiple sources, using search terms effectively, assessing the credibility and accuracy of sources, and quoting or paraphrasing the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners by collaborating to share their progress and work with their triad to make a better product. These activities also involve working to become ethical people as they practice compassion and respect listening to one another’s work.
  • In Closing and Assessment A, students may need to conduct some research for their documentary script. In addition to the articles, anchor text, and film used throughout Units 1 and 2, students may use reliable websites, online databases (e.g., from libraries), or article databases such as Newsela.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. For example:
    • Allow students who finish drafting early to begin researching for their action plan.
  • Encourage those students who excel at writing to mentor peers.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students focused on analyzing a narrative lead in a model documentary script and drafting their own narrative lead. In this lesson, students use ideas from their narrative lead drafts to create one strong narrative lead for the triad’s documentary.

Support All Students

  • Students may need additional support drafting their section of the documentary scripts. Provide extra support by grouping these students together and working with them by providing scaffolding and supporting questions. ▲
  • Students have practiced research skills extensively in Modules 1 and 2, so they should be prepared for this gradual release of research in this lesson. However, if not, use the Research Mini Lessons to support students in conducting research for their documentary script. ▲
  • Students who need additional support with research can use websites with leveled reading articles such as those found on Newsela. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ drafts as they work on them. Ask students to compare their drafts to the Model Documentary Script and identify what elements they are missing or would like to change.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, after planning in their triads, each student will work to draft one of the sections of the documentary script.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Students may use a document-sharing platform (such as http://eled.org/0158) to share and combine their narrative leads.
  • Closing and Assessment A: Students can use devices to conduct online research to further their action plan.
  • 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.C.10, 7.I.C.12, 7.II.B.5, 7.II.C.6, and 7.II.C.7.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson provides students with the opportunity to collaborate on revision and an action plan to ensure comprehension of and success on the tasks.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to determine how best to create one narrative lead from the three drafts each member of their triad created. In addition to the suggestions in the lesson and below, draw together struggling students and slowly review each possibility for revision (use one lead, use parts of each lead, use one lead and add the best sentences or ideas from the other leads), pausing to ensure students have time to comprehend and discuss each possibility as a triad.

Vocabulary

  • concisely, eliminating, precisely, redundancy, wordiness (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, Work Time A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening B)
  • Research Mini Lessons (for teacher reference) (from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 2)
  • Vocabulary log (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Narrative lead for the documentary script (student-generated; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Work Time B)
  • Narrative Writing checklist (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Action Plan Journal (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Homework A)
  • Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Texts from Module 4, Units 1 and 2: A Plastic Ocean, Trash Vortex, "Five Weird Materials That Could Replace Plastic," "Five Things You Can Do to End Plastic Pollution," and "Boyan Slat: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Kid" (one of each per student)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 (answers for teacher reference)
  • Documentary Script planner (example for teacher reference)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 (one per student)
  • Documentary Script planner (one per student)
  • Device to conduct online research (one per triad)

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 - L.7.3a (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3.
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique to review their responses, reminding students that they recorded definitions for concisely, eliminating, precisely, redundancy, and wordiness on the academic word wall and in their vocabulary logs during Module 2, but they can do so again for review.
  • 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 or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • On the entrance ticket, challenge students to first grapple to try defining the vocabulary from the context of revision and using word parts. Then they can use a dictionary to confirm their guesses.

For Heavier Support

  • On the entrance ticket, encourage students to use ELL or translation dictionaries to define the words and work in pairs to share their understanding of the meanings. Doing so will ensure comprehension and allow for oral language practice.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Combine Narrative Leads - W.7.5 (20 minutes)

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

"I can work with my peers to strengthen the narrative lead of our documentary script."

"I can choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy." 

  • Tell students that they will now work in their triads to share and combine ideas from their narrative leads to produce one strong lead for their documentary script. Ask students to retrieve their copies of the narrative leads that they wrote in the previous lesson and their Narrative Writing checklist to help guide their decisions about how to combine their leads. Offer some strategies for using their drafts to create a strong narrative lead for the group's documentary. For example, they may want to use the storyline of one lead, some description from another lead, and some reflection from another lead. They may want to try to use the "best parts" that students shared with one another in the previous lesson. Or they may want to use one triad member's lead as the base and add ideas, descriptions, or reflections from the other two members' leads. Explain that they will each be writing another section of the documentary, so they will have other opportunities to contribute to the documentary as well.
  • Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners and Work to Become Ethical People anchor charts, specifically: collaboration, respect, empathy, and compassion. Remind students that since they will be working together to create one lead out of their three leads, they must collaborate respectfully, keeping in mind the feelings of their triad-mates when sharing their written work.
  • Invite students to join with their triad and begin sharing and combining their leads. Circulate to offer support, making suggestions on how to create the strongest lead from their three drafts. When students have finished, invite them to edit the collaborative draft, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A, challenge students to model revising for precision, concision, wordiness, or redundancy by sharing a before and after sentence, explaining why they made the changes. 

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A, students may still be reluctant to share their narrative leads with their triad. Encourage them to reread their leads and choose the best sentence or section that they feel comfortable sharing. Or, if time allows, work with students to edit a sentence or section to ensure they have a best sentence they feel comfortable sharing.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Work on Action Plan - W.7.7, W.7.8 (20 minutes)

  • Inform students that they will now have the opportunity to work on their action plans, so they should retrieve their action plan journals and share with their triads any new research or actions taken. As necessary, remind students that the personal action plan, which they have been working on outside of class, is similar to and follows from their triad action plan. They will need to share what they have been researching and doing outside of class to make sure they combine everyone's experiences and ideas into one action plan for their script.
  • Also, display and distribute the Documentary Script planner and review that each section corresponds to a section of the script. Students should take notes on the planner as they work together on this activity, ensuring that the action plan part of their script relates to the narrative lead as it did in the Model Documentary script. This is important to keep in mind as they discuss and conduct research for their action plan. Students may use their texts from Module 4 as well as a device to access the internet for their research.
  • Use the Research Mini Lessons (for teacher reference) from Module 2 as necessary for those students who are researching an invention or new process for reducing plastic pollution. Students writing letters and conducting personal actions will also need to conduct research to make their letters and the information in their script more convincing. Also, remind students that it is worthwhile to research more about the impact even of these personal action plans. For instance, students can research examples of other people performing similar personal actions, as well as what the broader impact of their actions may be.
  • Invite students who complete their research, who are taking personal actions (such as reducing plastic use overall, recycling more, or refusing to use certain kinds of plastic) to think about how these actions apply in the school setting. Suggest that they design a scavenger hunt or similar activity to encourage students to take action in school. Students can also begin drafting the personal action section of the script or continue work on their action plan journals to create more detailed plans about steps they can take outside of class.
  • Circulate and provide support to students as needed, directing them to the appropriate research materials and sources.
  • Invite students to reflect on the learning target and habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • During Closing and Assessment A, encourage students to explain the steps of the research process that they used in Modules 1 and 2. Challenge them to use a self-assessment technique (such as Thumb-O-Meter) to determine which mini lessons they need to attend. 

For Heavier Support

  • As in the lighter support, during Closing and Assessment A, draw students into a small group and ask them to work together to explain the steps of the research process. Prompt and guide students as necessary. Then give brief review mini lessons on any steps that were unclear to students to ensure they understand and can successfully conduct all the steps of the research process.

Homework

Homework

A. Continue Action Plan

  • Students continue to work on their personal action plans. Students record their plans, research, and actions they've taken in their action plan journals, including at least one new note in the final research or results section.

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