Desktop Teaching Activity: Present Research Findings | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M2:U2:L13

Desktop Teaching Activity: Present Research Findings

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • SL.8.4, SL.8.5, L.8.6

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.8.1, W.8.2, W.8.6, W.8.7, W.8.8, SL.8.1
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can use academic and domain-specific words and phrases when verbally sharing my ideas. (L.8.6)
  • I can clearly communicate my research findings verbally and through visual aids. (SL.8.4, SL.8.5)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 13
  • Work Time A: Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan (RI.8.1, SL.8.4, SL.8.5, L.8.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A Vocabulary Jukebox - L.8.6 (10 minutes)

B. Peer Feedback: Practice Presentation - SL.8.4 (25 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Revisions (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Desktop Teaching Activity Practice: Students will practice presenting their research findings in preparation for the end of unit assessment in the next lesson.

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

  • L.8.6 – Work Time A: Students practice using vocabulary from their case studies in preparation for the Desktop Teaching Activity in the End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II. (In the next lesson, students will be assessed on their use of acquired vocabulary).
  • SL.8.4 – Work Time B: Students practice presenting their research to a partner. Students will provide feedback to partners on their Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plans and visual displays so students have an opportunity to incorporate the feedback of their peers in revising their lesson plans and visuals.
  • SL.8.5 – Work Time B: Students integrate visual displays in their presentations for their Desktop Teaching Activity in the End of Unit 2 Assessment.
  • In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristics that students practice are respect and compassion as they practice for the desktop teaching activity.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • To build in additional challenge during the Vocabulary Jukebox in Work Time A, have students use the words their peers share and define in a sentence.
  • Students can record themselves practicing their presentation and self-evaluate to set goals for improvement with presentation skills like pacing, volume, eye contact, and body language.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students created their Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan in preparation for the end of unit assessment. In this lesson, students practice verbally using acquired vocabulary from their lesson plan. Students also practice presenting their Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan and visual displays to a partner.

Support All Students

  • Much of this lesson is discussion-based, so students who struggle with oral language and/or auditory processing may need additional support. Provide sentence frames for students to refer to during peer critique or a note-taking template for students to take notes during critiques. ▲
  • To make the Vocabulary Jukebox more kinesthetic, change the speed at which students walk around the room, require students to walk in patterns, hop on one foot, and other variations to encourage students to have fun as they practice verbally using their vocabulary words and phrases. ▲
  • Pair those students who demonstrate greater proficiency with presentations with those in need of extra support during the peer critique section. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Circulate to monitor students’ desktop teaching activity practice to ensure they are demonstrating the speaking and listening skills that are being assessed in the End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will participate in the desktop teaching activity to present their research findings for the End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II.

In Advance

  • Prepare and ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 13 at each student's workspace.
  • Determine pairs for Work Time A. Prepare five vocabulary index cards for each student based on their case study. The following are sample vocabulary that may be used for each case study if applicable:
    • Pesticides
      • pesticide drift
      • fungicides
      • herbicides
      • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
      • insecticides
    • Food Deserts
      • socioeconomic
      • impoverished
      • supply and demand
      • farmers markets
      • proximity
    • Organic Foods
      • organic
      • synthetic
      • USDA certification label
      • contaminants
      • disparity
    • High-Fructose Corn Syrup
      • calories
      • fat accumulation
      • starch
      • fructose
      • glucose
  • Ensure that a device or computer is available to play music for the Vocabulary Jukebox in Work Time A.
  • Post sentence starters for students to use during peer feedback in Work Time B:
    • I think your greatest strength in presenting your ideas is ___________________.
    • I think it would be helpful if you could improve your ___________________ because ___________________. 
    • I think the ___________________ section of your lesson plan is good because ___________________.
    • I think the ___________________ section of your lesson plan can be improved by ___________________.
  • 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.
  • Ensure that a device or computer is available to play music for the Vocabulary Jukebox in Work Time A.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.A.1, 8.I.A.3, and 8.I.A.4.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson incorporates repeated routines and provides time for collaborative and supportive peer sharing and review. Students will have the opportunity to continue to refine their work based on feedback from peers in preparation for the desktop teaching activity in the End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II in Lesson 14.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to apply suggestions to their revisions during Closing and Assessment A of this lesson. Pair students with supportive peers who can provide explicit guidance to ELLs, and, if possible, build in time for students to share their revisions with the same peers they received feedback from to check for understanding.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time D)
  • Model Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan (one for display; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 12, Work Time A)
  • End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 12, Work Time A)
  • Visual aids for Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan (student-generated; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 12, Work Time B)
  • Independent reading journals (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Device to play music (see Technology and Multimedia)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 13 (one per student)
  • Vocabulary index cards (five per student; see In Advance)

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

Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 13.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as 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 previous lessons.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Vocabulary Jukebox - L.8.6 (10 minutes)

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

"I can use academic and domain-specific words and phrases when verbally sharing my ideas."

  • Distribute five vocabulary index cards to each student based on their case study. Ask students to stand around the room. Explain to students that this is a vocabulary activity to help them develop their ability to use vocabulary words and phrases from their case study. Remind them that the content of their case studies is very specific, and there are vocabulary and terms they will use in their presentations to demonstrate their understanding of their topic.
  • Invite students to scramble around the room as the music plays. When the music stops, have students find a partner and choose one of the vocabulary index cards. Invite students to define the word or phrase on the card and to explain how it pertains to their case study. After the first round, students will try using a different index card for their next pairing.
  • Model this by having a student play music. Instruct the student to stop the music and find a student partner. Say: "Hi, my vocabulary word is splicing. Splicing is joining or connecting two strands. GMOs are made by splicing new genes from one plant into another."
  • Play the music so students may begin. After students walk around the room for a few seconds, stop the music, and instruct them to find a partner. Have students choose an index card, define their vocabulary word or phrase, and explain how it pertains to their case study.
  • After 2 minutes, play the music and have students scramble around the room again, and repeat for a second and third round.
  • Refocus the whole class.
  • Instruct students to retrieve their Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan. Ask students to review their lesson plans to see which vocabulary words and phrases from their index cards they can add. Explain that they are being assessed on their ability to use the vocabulary in their desktop teaching activity presentation.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.
  • N/A

B. Peer Feedback: Practice Presentation - SL.8.4 (25 minutes)

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

"I can clearly communicate my research findings verbally and through visual aids."

  • Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart, and remind them specifically of respect and compassion. Remind students that the purpose of peer critique is to help each other revise their work. This process will help students see what is working and then ask questions and offer suggestions, so when we provide feedback, we have to be careful to ensure we are respectful and compassionate.
  • Remind students that they gave each other feedback on their presentation skills in the previous lesson, and now they will spend more time rehearsing for the Desktop Teaching protocol for the end of unit assessment and giving each other feedback. Remind students that when they present their lesson plan and visuals, they should make eye contact with their partner, refrain from reading aloud directly from their lesson plan, project their voice so their partner can hear them, and clearly pronounce their words.
  • Display the Model Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan. Model how to present these speaking and listening skills by presenting the GMOs case study in this model. Emphasize eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation to help students understand how to effectively present their ideas. Display a visual that represents GMOs so students can see how to present their lesson plan using a visual display. Answer any clarifying questions, and encourage students to continue building the speaking and listening skills they've been working on in the last few lessons.
  • Organize students into pairs.
  • Instruct students to present their lesson plans and visual displays to their partner. Remind students that they are pretending to be teachers, so remember that their goal is for their "students" to learn new information.
  • Circulate as students present to each other to ensure students are making eye contact and using adequate volume and clear pronunciation. If students are struggling, support them by identifying how they can better make eye contact, project their voice, and pronounce their words so their listener can understand what they are saying.
  • Refocus the whole class.
  • Instruct students to provide their partner with feedback on their presentation skills using the following sentence starters:
    • I think your greatest strength in presenting your ideas is ___________________.
    • I think it would be helpful if you could improve your ___________________ because ___________________.
  • Instruct students to begin.
  • Circulate as students provide feedback to ensure they stay on task and are offering supportive and respectful feedback.
  • Refocus the whole class.
  • Instruct students to provide their partner with feedback on their lesson plan using the following sentence starters:
    • I think the ___________________ section of your lesson plan is good because ___________________.
    • I think the ___________________ section of your lesson plan can be improved by ___________________.
  • Model how to analyze the lesson plan and provide feedback by using the Model Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan. Say: "I think the case study overview in this lesson plan is good because it gives the reader enough information about GMOs in order to understand how they influence our access to healthy food."
  • Instruct students to begin.
  • Circulate as students provide feedback to ensure they stay on task and are offering supportive and respectful feedback.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • Before Work Time B, review the Conversation Cues and discussion norms as a class to prepare students for the peer feedback portion of the lesson. Work as a class to generate a list of sentence starters based on these and other phrases that students can refer to while providing one another with feedback.

For Heavier Support

  • In advance of Work Time B, prepare individual sticky notes for students that include a list of sentence starters based on Conversation Cues that students can refer to during the discussion when they wish to elaborate or clarify information. These might include:
    • "So, do you mean _____?"
    • "Sure. I think that _____."
    • "OK. One example is _____."
    • "No, sorry, that's not what I mean. I mean _____."

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Revisions (5 minutes)

  • Invite students to revise their Desktop Teaching Activity Lesson Plan using the peer feedback, and circulate to support students as they revise their work. Remind students to think about their peer suggestions, and that they may thoughtfully reject some suggestions. If students want to edit or change their visual display, they may make revisions for homework.
  • Remind students to think carefully about the feedback they received on their presentation skills and to practice making eye contact and using adequate volume and clear pronunciation in preparation for the end of unit assessment in the next lesson.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

Homework

Homework

A. Desktop Teaching Activity Practice

  • Students will practice presenting their research findings in preparation for the end of unit assessment in the next lesson.

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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