Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• RI.8.6 – Opening A: Students complete an entrance ticket on the function of a paragraph.
• RI.8.6 – Work Time A: Students read section 2 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and determine the author’s purpose and point of view.
• RI.8.5 – Work Time B: Students analyze paragraph structures and how sentences in paragraphs develop key concepts in the text.
• RI.8.5 – Closing and Assessment A: Students answer questions focused on paragraph structure in Section 2 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma on an exit ticket.
• The Think-Pair-Share and Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocols are used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of the 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.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Students could read chapters 1, 2, and 3 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and analyze the author’s point of view on other topics in the text.
• Students can conduct an internet search on the ingredients derived from corn mentioned on page 19 (e.g., MSG, glucose syrup, xanthan gum).
• Students can conduct an internet search to find more information about farmers and agribusinesses. They can locate short videos, interviews, and articles about the profits from industrial farming and the impact on farmers. Students can then write a reflection on their own point of view on agribusiness.
• Students may find more information about Monsanto and conflicting viewpoints about their GMO seeds and share this in small groups or with the whole class. Students can then participate in an organized discussion (e.g., Socratic Seminar) to exchange ideas about their research findings and opinions.
• If time permits, have students analyze the way the author implies that the integrity of seed companies is questionable. Display the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart to review integrity, and ask:

“How do you think the author feels about agribusiness?” (It is not fair that seed companies profit while farmers struggle to feed their families.)

“The author describes how farmers only receive government subsidies to grow corn, but corn is sold for less than the cost to grow the crop. What do you think the author feels is the ‘right’ thing to do?” (Responses will vary, but may include: offer more subsidies to farmers, lower the price of GMO seeds, offer subsidies to grow other crops.)

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the previous lesson, students analyzed the author’s purpose and point of view in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In this lesson, students continue this work, as well as analyze paragraph structures and how they develop key concepts in the text.
• Students also answer selected response questions on the author’s purpose and point of view for homework, which builds upon their learning in the previous lesson.

Support All Students

• Note that section 2 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma brings up the idea that there is corn in most processed food that people eat, hidden within the ingredient lists. It notes that because of government subsidies, the price of corn stays cheap and farmers make less money, leading to bigger farms with fewer farmers and other effects, such as more fertilizer being used. It also brings up the concept of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, and the fact that some people believe these are dangerous to consume. Some students and their families may have differing opinions from what Pollan suggests or may find these topics new or challenging based on their own knowledge and eating or shopping habits. Allow for time to process and respond to these topics during individual, small group, or full class discussion, and reach out to families as needed. Use thoughtful strategic pairing for discussions around these topics to ensure that all students feel comfortable.
• In Work Time A, provide choice in how students read the excerpt: some students may prefer to read independently and silently, while others (especially ELLs) may wish to read aloud in groups with peers and/or with support. Still others may wish to read silently for a few pages and then process with a group. This format of choice could potentially be built into the reading time within each lesson. ▲
• As in previous lessons, in Work Time A, present additional options for recording gist rather than just the sticky note, such as using a separate notebook, using a graphic organizer, using highlighters and annotating, or using a voice recorder. Give students options for expressing their understanding of gist (oral, written, drawing). Also, build in different options for expressing comprehension of the text (written reflection, voice recording, discussion with partners/groups). ▲
• Students may need support in understanding the concept of GMOs and hybrid plants. Consider showing images or videos to provide visual examples of how scientists use technology to create these seeds. It may also benefit students to see before and after images of original foods and the hybrid foods that result from genetic engineering to better understand this process. ▲
• When pairing students to answer selected and constructed response questions in Closing and Assessment A, group ELLs with partners who have more advanced or native language proficiency. The partners with greater language proficiency can serve as a model, initiating discussions and providing implicit sentence frames, for example. Use the same pairing in future lessons if this pairing is successful. This will support students in building trust and becoming more comfortable and confident with their peers. ▲
• In later grades, students will analyze how an author’s ideas or claims are refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text. Students might choose a longer text, perhaps the entirety of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and write an analysis of how the author uses longer portions of text to refine his argument.
• In high school, students will analyze how an author or speaker uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. Students might analyze the use of rhetoric (the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques) within The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Assessment Guidance

• As students work in pairs to answer selected response questions in Closing and Assessment A, listen to student discussions to determine how close students are to understanding how to answer questions related to RI.8.5 to determine any common issues that could be used as teaching points for the whole group.
• Check student vocabulary logs for accountability in recording vocabulary.
• Check gist statements to ensure students are recording quick notes about what the text is mostly about.
• Review students’ exit tickets after the lesson to identify common issues in analyzing structure to use as teaching points for upcoming lessons on structure. See the Exit Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3 (answers for teacher reference).

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will continue reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. They will also delineate and evaluate the arguments in the text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient.