Analyze Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M1:U1:L13

Analyze Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.8.1, RL.8.3

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.

  • RL.8.4, RL.8.10, SL.8.1, L.8.4, L.8.6

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can demonstrate understanding of the excerpt of chapter 11 of Summer of the Mariposas.
  • I can analyze how incidents in a story reveal aspects of character (RL.8.1, RL.8.3)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (L.8.1)
  • Work Time A: Gist on sticky notes
  • Work Time B: Analyze Aspects of Character (RL.8.1, RL.8.3)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 Excerpt (15 minutes)

B. Analyze Aspects of Character - RL.8.3 (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

 A. Reflect on Learning Targets (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Selected Response Questions: Using Homework: Selected Response Questions: Analyze Aspects of Character 1, students answer selected response questions to analyze how incidents in Summer of the Mariposas reveal aspects of a character.

B. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RL.8.3 – Work Time B: students will practice analyzing how events and character response within the text reveal aspects of character using a graphic organizer.
  • RL.8.1 – Work Time B: students will use evidence to support their analysis of how events and character response within the text reveal aspects of character using a graphic organizer.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Students might continue to fill out the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer by considering how the other sisters responded to encountering the donkey and what this reveals about each sister.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • Previously, students have found the gist of each chapter of text and have also analyzed the point of view of various characters in the text. Having this basic idea of what is happening throughout the plot while also thinking about point of view will help students consider how characters are impacted by events in the story. 
  • In this lesson, students are introduced to their end of unit text-based discussion prompt and practice the skills required to analyze how incidents and response reveal aspects of character.

Support All Students

  • Check for understanding of learning targets through both written and oral paraphrasing. Some ELLs, for example, may be able to write a paraphrase of a learning target but not articulate this orally. A written paraphrase (perhaps even with illustration) can also be helpful in terms of serving as a fixed reference to return to.
  • Note that there is a differentiated version of Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer used in Work Time B in the supporting materials download.
  • Chapter 11 again brings up the potentially sensitive topic of the supernatural as the girls encounter a donkey who leads them to his cave and then transforms into the nagual, a warlock. As previously noted, supernatural content may be scary or a may be a restricted topic for some students. Allow for time to process and respond to these topics during discussion, and reach out to families as needed.

Assessment Guidance

  • In Work Time A, review students’ answers to gist notes.
  • In Work Time B, review students’ work on the graphic organizer.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will continue to practice analysis of how incidents in the novel reveal aspects of the characters and will generate discussion norms. Students will find evidence from the novel to support and organize their ideas. The norms students generate in this lesson next will be used for the end of unit assessment.

In Advance

  • Prepare the following:
    • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13
    • Discussion Norms anchor chart 
  • Post the following on the board for students to respond to during Closing and Assessment A:
  • In the beginning of chapter 11, Odilia says, "Pita's words . . . made the hair on the back of my neck stand up to alert" (173). 
  • Given your understanding of Odilia over these eleven chapters, why do you think she is nervous? What does this tell you about her character? Use several pieces of evidence from the text to support your response.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 at each student's workspace.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous lessons 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 8.I.B.6, 8.I.B.7, and 8.I.B.8.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson introduces character analysis in Summer of the Mariposas in preparation for the End of Unit 1 Assessment. ELLs will also have the opportunity to think about sentence structure in English, with the opening of the lesson focusing on sentence fragments, a common issue in many students’ writing. As with previous lessons, in-class reading and discussion allows space for diverse perspectives on the class novel and its characters.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to work through the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer, as this is the first time they will engage in this type of analysis. The Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer can be used to support students who may need additional guidance as they work through this task. 

Vocabulary

  • incidents (A)
  • reveal (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 Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening B)
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Domain-specific word wall (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Chart paper of Spanish words (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Text Guide: Summer of the Mariposas (examples for teacher reference; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Summer of the Mariposas (text; one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Vocabulary logs (one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 (answers for teacher reference)
  • Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer (answers for teacher reference)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 (one per student)
  • Synopsis: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (one per student)
  • Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer (one per student)
  • Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer  
  • Homework: Selected Response Questions: Analyze Aspects of Character 1 (one per student; from Homework Resources; see unit download)

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 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: As they arrive, students complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13. 
  • Once students have completed their Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 13 prompt students to Turn and Talk about their answers. Connect this task to their upcoming discussion and the importance of speaking clearly and in complete sentences to convey their points clearly. Ask students to share one strategy they will use to support them in speaking clearly and with details. 
  • 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.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine to focus students on the words incidents (events or situations) and reveal (to show something that is secret or hidden) and to use a dictionary to define the words or the vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. With students' support, record the meaning of incidents on the academic word wall and reveal on the domain-specific word wall. Invite students to record the words in their vocabulary logs. 

For Lighter Support

  • Add additional sentence fragments for students to analyze to deepen students' understanding of sentence structure and common errors and to provide further opportunity for practice.

For Heavier Support

  • Have students work in groups to generate fragments for their classmates to edit. Working in this way will require students to think carefully about the structure of sentences and how we form sentences to communicate ideas clearly.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 Excerpt (15 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same process as with previous lessons for students to read the excerpt of chapter 11 of Summer of the Mariposas, using the Text Guide:  Summer of the Mariposas (examples for teacher reference). Instruct students to read the excerpt independently and support struggling students as needed. If students do not finish reading the chapter excerpt within the allotted reading time, distribute Synopsis:  Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 to each student to review the key details from the chapter. Then have students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, add words to the chart paper of Spanish words, reflect on their reading as they choose, and record the gist on sticky notes using the following resources as appropriate: vocabulary logs and Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart.
  • Gist: donkey puts spell on girls
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share about the following questions relating to Habits of Character. (Refer to the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart for reference.)

“How does Odilia show compassion to her sisters in the chapter?” (The girls still argue with one another frequently and in this chapter, while they are arguing over the donkey, Odilia stands up for Pita when Juanita makes fun of her for talking to a donkey.)

“Are any of the sisters growing in their ability to show compassion or empathy toward one another?” (It is still challenging for the girls to show compassion or empathy to one another—they argue frequently.)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • During Work Time A, after students complete their reading of the chapter 11 excerpt, allow them to review the Synopsis: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 in pairs. Students can work together to identify which of the events on the list they read about to check for understanding. 

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Time A, distribute Summary: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 in advance of the reading, and direct students to annotate or highlight when they find one of the key events in the text. This will help students to direct their attention to important excerpts and add structure to independent reading.

B. Analyze Aspects of Character – RL.8.3 (20 minutes)

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

“I can analyze how incidents in a story reveal aspects of character”

  • Distribute and display the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer.
  • Explain that students will fill out a graphic organizer in order to help them analyze how events in chapter 11 of Summer of the Mariposas reveal aspects of Odilia’s character. Tell students that in the end of unit assessment in Lesson 16, they will respond to a similar prompt. Remind students that organizing their thinking on a note-catcher is a way to review what they read and deepen their understanding. For ELLs and students who require additional support, the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer can be used to help guide students’ thinking through selected response options and gradual release. Read the following question aloud:

“What does the incident with the donkey reveal about Odilia?”

  • Say:

“I know that when Odilia first meets the donkey, she gets nervous when Pita says the donkey can talk, and she remembers Teresita’s warning. I’m going to jot that down.”

Model filling in the second column of the Aspects of Character Chapter 11 graphic organizer. Use the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer (answers for teacher reference).

  • Ask: 

“In the beginning of chapter 11, Odilia says, ‘Pita’s words . . . made the hair on the back of my neck stand up to alert’ (173). What is Odilia feeling?” (Odilia is feeling nervous and apprehensive.)

“Given your understanding of Odilia over these eleven chapters, why do you think she is nervous? What does this tell you about her character? Use several pieces of evidence from the text to support your response.” (This reveals that Odilia is untrusting and protective. She is protective of her sisters and she does not trust others due to the many challenging experiences she has faced. She says, “Things are not always what they appear to be” [175]).

  • Guide students through an intentional, but quick, Think-Pair-Share, ensuring that partner A and partner B both have think time, both get to say the question aloud to the other, and both have allocated time to respond and then to discuss to build deeper understanding.
  • Cold-call students to share their responses, and model filling in the third and fourth columns of the graphic organizer.
  • Invite students to work in pairs to add more details, evidence, and aspects of character to the Aspects of Character: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 11 graphic organizer.
  • N/A

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Reflect on Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.
  • Incorporate reflection on and awareness of the following academic mindsets: "I can succeed at this" and "My ability and competence grow with my effort."
  • Ask students to Turn and Talk: 

"What helped you to be successful during Work Time today? How much effort did you put into this task? How did your effort affect your learning?" (Possible responses: I was successful at reading today because looked at the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart for strategies. I put in a bit more time and effort to do this, but it made a big difference in helping me understand the excerpt, which helps my learning as I prepare for the assessment.)

Homework

Homework

A. Selected Response Questions

Using Homework: Selected Response Questions: Analyze Aspects of Character 1, students answer selected response questions to analyze how incidents in Summer of the Mariposas reveal aspects of a character.

B. Independent Research Reading

Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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