ELA G2:M2:U2:L8

Launching Close Reading: “Other Types of Fossils”

Like what you see?

Order printed materials, teacher guides and more.

How to order

Help us improve!

Tell us how the curriculum is working in your classroom and send us corrections or suggestions for improving it.

Leave feedback

These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

RI.2.1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RI.2.2: Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
RI.2.5: Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
SL.2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.2.1a: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
SL.2.1b: Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
L.2.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).

Daily Learning Targets

I can use evidence from the text "Other Types of Fossils" to answer questions about different types of fossils. (RI.2.1, RI.2.2)
I can categorize different types of fossils by discussing my ideas with a partner. (SL.2.1, SL.2.1a, SL.2.1b)

Ongoing Assessment

At the end of Work Time A, collect students' "Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions and use the Reading Informational Text Checklist (RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.3, RI.2.4, RI.2.5, RI.2.6) to track students' progress toward reading standards RI.2.1 and RI.2.4 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
In Work Time B, monitor students' use of the discussion norms. Refer them to the Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart when giving support. (SL.2.1, SL.2.1a, SL.2.1b)

Agenda

Agenda	Teaching Notes
1. Opening A. Building Vocabulary: Interactive Word Wall (10 minutes) 2. Work Time A. Launching Close Reading: "Other Types of Fossils" (20 minutes) B. Sorting Protocol: Sorting Fossils (15 minutes) C. Analyzing a Model: Museum Display Label (10 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)	Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: In the Opening, students participate in a modified version of the Interactive Word Wall protocol. Although the protocol is typically used with small groups, students are led through it today as a whole group. This whole group introduction supports students' thinking about the relationships between words as they develop language skills and bolster their vocabulary bank of fossil-related words. This whole group instruction will support students in doing the Interactive Word Wall protocol in small groups in Lesson 10. (L.2.6) This lesson is the first of four in which students begin to closely read texts independently. In this lesson, students read in pairs to practice the skills they have learned during whole group close read-alouds. The text included is written at a 390 Lexile measurement but includes familiar information about fossils. Due to their familiarity with the topic, students are able to rely on their topical vocabulary and knowledge to support their independent reading. The text will be read aloud once to help students feel comfortable with the text before reading on their own, and students also read and discuss the gist of each paragraph. The independent text and selected response questions scaffold the experience for students in preparation for the Unit 2 Assessment. (RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.5) In Work Time B, students work with partners to sort photographs of the different types of fossils they read about in their independent text. Students will use their discussion norms and the information gained from the text to make decisions about how to categorize each photograph. (SL.2.1, SL.2.1a, SL.2.b) Keep in mind that it is okay if students do not sort the pictures correctly; the purpose here is to allow them to discuss the ideas in the text that they have read about. In Work Time C, students look at a model of a museum display label to prepare them to write their own museum display labels in Lesson 9. These labels will be showcased in the classroom to highlight some of the learning they have done in this unit. Consider finding an example of a real museum display label to show the class in addition to this model. In the Closing, students revisit the definition of collaboration and provide examples of how they showed this habit of character during their learning. How this lesson builds on previous work: Students learned and practiced determining the main idea, using text features, and defining new words as a group during the close read aloud of Fossils. In this lesson, students start to apply those skills as they read and answer questions with their partners. Similar to the writing pieces and Readers Theater scripts in Module 1, students will create criteria for writing their museum label after analyzing a model. Continue to use Goal 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation. Areas in which students may need additional support: During the Interactive Word Wall protocol, students may continue to find it challenging to make connections between various fossil-related words. Verbalizing the reason for a connection also may be challenging. If needed, provide additional scaffolding by limiting the number of words or choosing the word for the student and asking the student to think about how the two words are connected. In Work Time A, students work with partners to read through a text. Partner students who need additional support with reading grade-level texts with those who can read on or above grade level if possible. During Work Time A, for students who may need teacher support with reading, consider pulling a small group of students to read the text aloud to them. Consider prioritizing selected response questions to analyze and talk about together before having students answer them independently. In Work Time B, students work with partners to categorize fossils. Support students by asking them to describe what they see in the picture. In addition, underline or circle specific words from the independent text that could help them identify the type of fossil they are looking at. Down the road: In this lesson, students practice with a partner responding to selected response questions about using text features and determining the main idea. In the next lesson, students work independently on the same types of questions, as well as questions about defining an unknown word. In this lesson, students read the first two paragraphs of the article titled "Other Types of Fossils" with a partner. In the next lesson, students read the remaining two paragraphs of the article independently. In Lesson 9, students will help label a space in the classroom for museum displays. This museum will display students' museum display labels from Lesson 9.

Teaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Building Vocabulary: Interactive Word Wall (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Launching Close Reading: "Other Types of Fossils" (20 minutes)

B. Sorting Protocol: Sorting Fossils (15 minutes)

C. Analyzing a Model: Museum Display Label (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

In the Opening, students participate in a modified version of the Interactive Word Wall protocol. Although the protocol is typically used with small groups, students are led through it today as a whole group. This whole group introduction supports students' thinking about the relationships between words as they develop language skills and bolster their vocabulary bank of fossil-related words. This whole group instruction will support students in doing the Interactive Word Wall protocol in small groups in Lesson 10. (L.2.6)
This lesson is the first of four in which students begin to closely read texts independently. In this lesson, students read in pairs to practice the skills they have learned during whole group close read-alouds. The text included is written at a 390 Lexile measurement but includes familiar information about fossils. Due to their familiarity with the topic, students are able to rely on their topical vocabulary and knowledge to support their independent reading. The text will be read aloud once to help students feel comfortable with the text before reading on their own, and students also read and discuss the gist of each paragraph. The independent text and selected response questions scaffold the experience for students in preparation for the Unit 2 Assessment. (RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.5)
In Work Time B, students work with partners to sort photographs of the different types of fossils they read about in their independent text. Students will use their discussion norms and the information gained from the text to make decisions about how to categorize each photograph. (SL.2.1, SL.2.1a, SL.2.b) Keep in mind that it is okay if students do not sort the pictures correctly; the purpose here is to allow them to discuss the ideas in the text that they have read about.
In Work Time C, students look at a model of a museum display label to prepare them to write their own museum display labels in Lesson 9. These labels will be showcased in the classroom to highlight some of the learning they have done in this unit. Consider finding an example of a real museum display label to show the class in addition to this model.
In the Closing, students revisit the definition of collaboration and provide examples of how they showed this habit of character during their learning.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

Students learned and practiced determining the main idea, using text features, and defining new words as a group during the close read aloud of Fossils. In this lesson, students start to apply those skills as they read and answer questions with their partners.
Similar to the writing pieces and Readers Theater scripts in Module 1, students will create criteria for writing their museum label after analyzing a model.
Continue to use Goal 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

During the Interactive Word Wall protocol, students may continue to find it challenging to make connections between various fossil-related words. Verbalizing the reason for a connection also may be challenging. If needed, provide additional scaffolding by limiting the number of words or choosing the word for the student and asking the student to think about how the two words are connected.
In Work Time A, students work with partners to read through a text. Partner students who need additional support with reading grade-level texts with those who can read on or above grade level if possible.
During Work Time A, for students who may need teacher support with reading, consider pulling a small group of students to read the text aloud to them. Consider prioritizing selected response questions to analyze and talk about together before having students answer them independently.
In Work Time B, students work with partners to categorize fossils. Support students by asking them to describe what they see in the picture. In addition, underline or circle specific words from the independent text that could help them identify the type of fossil they are looking at.

Down the road:

In this lesson, students practice with a partner responding to selected response questions about using text features and determining the main idea. In the next lesson, students work independently on the same types of questions, as well as questions about defining an unknown word.
In this lesson, students read the first two paragraphs of the article titled "Other Types of Fossils" with a partner. In the next lesson, students read the remaining two paragraphs of the article independently.
In Lesson 9, students will help label a space in the classroom for museum displays. This museum will display students' museum display labels from Lesson 9.

In Advance

Prepare:

Interactive Word Wall cards and arrow cards (see supporting materials).
Sorting Different Types of Fossils activity for Work Time B by making enough copies of the graphic organizer for each partnership, cutting out pictures for each partnership, and paper clipping these pictures to the Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer.
Criteria for a Museum Display Label example by writing it out as an anchor chart (see supporting materials).

Pre-determine partnerships for reading in Work Time A.
Preview:

Think-aloud in Work Time A on how to read a text closely with independence.
Think-aloud in Work Time A on how to answer a selected response question with your own text.

Review the Interactive Word Wall protocol. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.) Additionally, watch the "Interactive Word Wall Protocol" video to prepare for when students participate in this protocol in Work Time A.
Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson materials.

Work Time A: Create the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart in an online format--for example, a Google Doc--for display and for families to access at home to reinforce these skills.
Work Time B: Video-record students during the Sorting protocol to watch together later to evaluate strengths and areas for improvement. Post it on a teacher web page or on a portfolio app--for example, Seesaw --for students to watch at home with their families. Most devices (cellphones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free video and audio recording apps or software.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 2.I.A.1, 2.I.B.6, and 2.I.C.12

Important points in the lesson itself

The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with explicit instruction applying strategies for answering selected response questions and with opportunities to participate in task-based, authentic communicative exchanges.
ELLs may find it challenging to process the information presented in "Other Types of Fossils," and to answer the related selected response questions. It may be necessary to reread aloud key parts of the article and to read aloud the questions and response choices multiple times. Support students in rephrasing and conceptualizing each selected response question. See "Levels of support" below and the Meeting Students' Needs column for additional suggestions.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

During Work Time A, invite confident students to rephrase some of the selected response questions for the class. This will help others conceptualize the questions while providing a model for rephrasing questions to support comprehension.

For heavier support:

Consider adding visuals to the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart, including a picture for each strategy. This will help students apply these strategies throughout the unit.

Universal Design for Learning

Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): To facilitate effective learning during this lesson, ensure that all students have access to the directions in each session and feel comfortable with the expectations. Vary the ways in which you convey expectations for each activity or task. Consider engaging in a clarifying discussion about the directions or creating an outline of the steps in Work Time A.
Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): In Work Time A, students recall the gist of the first and second sections of "Other Types of Fossils." Support working memory by scaffolding the organization of information. (Example: Offer partially filled-in concept maps of sections one and two for students to reference as they recall the gist.)
Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Although holding high expectations is important, be aware that sometimes these expectations can raise student anxiety. Emphasize the importance of process and effort by discussing how even when you try your best, you can sometimes make a mistake, and that is okay.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L): Text-Specific Vocabulary (T): Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

New:

interact, connect, type, gist, categorize (L)
sap, body fossils (T)

Review:

paleontologist, fossils, clues, excavate, fossilization, decay, preserved, petrified, surrounding, main idea (L)

Materials

Interactive Word Wall cards (one set per class)
Arrow cards (one set per class)
Directions for the Interactive Word Wall (for teacher reference)
"Other Types of Fossils" (one per student and one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1; added to during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
Equity sticks (class set; one per student)
Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 2)
"Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions (one per student)
Reading Informational Text Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
"Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions (answers, for teacher reference)
Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer (one per pair and one to display)
Different Types of Fossils pictures (one per pair and one to display)
Sorting Protocol anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see supporting materials)
Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer (answers, for teacher reference)
Museum display label model (one to display)
Criteria for a Museum Display Label anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see supporting materials)

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Building Vocabulary: Interactive Word Wall (10 minutes) Invite students to move to a spot around the edge of the whole group gathering area. As needed, remind them to move safely and make space for everyone. Lay the Interactive Word Wall cards and arrow cards on the floor in the middle of the whole group area, leaving space between the cards. Invite students to look at the cards laid out on the floor, and then point to the place in the classroom where they have seen the same words (the Fossils Word Wall). Invite students to notice that these cards have words and pictures on them, just like the cards on the Fossils Word Wall. Explain that they are about to participate in an activity called the Interactive Word Wall protocol. Define interact (to have an effect on or change one another). Tell students they will soon interact with the cards to move them around! Hold up each Interactive Word Wall card, reading the word aloud. Make sure all students can see the word and picture icon on each card. If necessary, review the definitions of the words on the Interactive Word Wall cards by having students turn and talk with a partner about the meaning of a word and then providing the definition. Define connect (join together) and explain that now the class will connect two Interactive Word Wall cards. Model making a connection between two Word Wall cards (refer to the Directions for the Interactive Word Wall for more detailed instructions): Choose an Interactive Word Wall card. Read the word on the card aloud. (e.g., "paleontologist") Using an arrow card, connect this card to another Interactive Word Wall card. (e.g., "paleontologist" (r)"fossils") Read the word on the second card aloud. (e.g., "fossils") Explain why the two Interactive Word Wall cards belong together. (e.g., "These two words belong together because a paleontologist studies fossils.") Read the remaining Interactive Word Wall cards aloud: clues, excavate, fossilization, decay, preserved, petrified, surrounding. Invite students to help you to repeat this process by adding another Interactive Word Wall card to the chain. (e.g., "paleontologist"(r)"fossils"(r)"clues") Tell students that they will work in small groups and do the interactive word wall protocol tomorrow. As time permits, repeat this process to add several Interactive Word Wall cards to the chain. Debrief with students by inviting them to show a thumbs-up or touch their heads to indicate a positive response to these questions: "Did we put the word cards and arrow cards in the middle of our group?" "Did we choose one word to connect to another word using an arrow card?" "Did we explain why the words belong together?" Share that the class will do this again in the next lesson so that they can think hard about how fossil words go together!	For students who may need additional support with oral language processing: Provide sentence frames as students explain the connection between words. (MMAE) For ELLs: Consider inviting students to discuss the meaning of the Interactive Word Wall cards in home language groups before beginning the Interactive Word Wall protocol. For ELLs: Check for comprehension by inviting students to paraphrase the rational for each connection in their own words. Restate or rephrase as necessary.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Building Vocabulary: Interactive Word Wall (10 minutes)

Invite students to move to a spot around the edge of the whole group gathering area. As needed, remind them to move safely and make space for everyone.
Lay the Interactive Word Wall cards and arrow cards on the floor in the middle of the whole group area, leaving space between the cards.
Invite students to look at the cards laid out on the floor, and then point to the place in the classroom where they have seen the same words (the Fossils Word Wall).
Invite students to notice that these cards have words and pictures on them, just like the cards on the Fossils Word Wall.
Explain that they are about to participate in an activity called the Interactive Word Wall protocol.
Define interact (to have an effect on or change one another).
Tell students they will soon interact with the cards to move them around!
Hold up each Interactive Word Wall card, reading the word aloud. Make sure all students can see the word and picture icon on each card.
If necessary, review the definitions of the words on the Interactive Word Wall cards by having students turn and talk with a partner about the meaning of a word and then providing the definition.
Define connect (join together) and explain that now the class will connect two Interactive Word Wall cards.
Model making a connection between two Word Wall cards (refer to the Directions for the Interactive Word Wall for more detailed instructions):

Choose an Interactive Word Wall card. Read the word on the card aloud. (e.g., "paleontologist")
Using an arrow card, connect this card to another Interactive Word Wall card. (e.g., "paleontologist" (r)"fossils")
Read the word on the second card aloud. (e.g., "fossils")
Explain why the two Interactive Word Wall cards belong together. (e.g., "These two words belong together because a paleontologist studies fossils.")

Read the remaining Interactive Word Wall cards aloud: clues, excavate, fossilization, decay, preserved, petrified, surrounding.
Invite students to help you to repeat this process by adding another Interactive Word Wall card to the chain. (e.g., "paleontologist"(r)"fossils"(r)"clues")
Tell students that they will work in small groups and do the interactive word wall protocol tomorrow.
As time permits, repeat this process to add several Interactive Word Wall cards to the chain.
Debrief with students by inviting them to show a thumbs-up or touch their heads to indicate a positive response to these questions:

"Did we put the word cards and arrow cards in the middle of our group?"

"Did we choose one word to connect to another word using an arrow card?"

"Did we explain why the words belong together?"

Share that the class will do this again in the next lesson so that they can think hard about how fossil words go together!

For students who may need additional support with oral language processing: Provide sentence frames as students explain the connection between words. (MMAE)
For ELLs: Consider inviting students to discuss the meaning of the Interactive Word Wall cards in home language groups before beginning the Interactive Word Wall protocol.
For ELLs: Check for comprehension by inviting students to paraphrase the rational for each connection in their own words. Restate or rephrase as necessary.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Launching Close Reading: "Other Types of Fossils" (20 minutes) Tell students that have done such a good job participating in a close read-aloud of the book Fossils. Remind them that they read this book closely and answered questions using evidence from the text. This helped them learn new things about fossils. Tell students that today they will continue reading about fossils, but they are going to read the text closely with a partner. That means they read the text independently with their partner and use the same strategies the class has been using. Celebrate with students this big step as readers: They are reading these texts independently! Tell students that as the year goes on, they will read more texts like this on their own. Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud: "I can use evidence from the text 'Other Types of Fossils' to answer questions about different types of fossils." Invite students to whisper a response to an elbow partner and ask: "What will you be learning about from our article today?" (other types of fossils) Display "Other Types of Fossils." Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group: "What text features do you notice in this text that we noticed in Fossils?" (There is a title. There are headings. There are words that are bolded.) Tell students that just like Fossils, "Other Types of Fossils" is a nonfiction text. Tell students that a type of a fossil is a group of fossils that are the same in some way. Tell students that the first thing close readers do when they read a text independently is to read the whole text and think about what it is mostly about. This is called the gist. When close readers think about the gist, they don't look for the small details in the text. They think about what the whole text is mostly about. Direct students' attention to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. Point to the last bullet and read it aloud: "Read small chunks of text slowly and think about the gist (what the text is mostly about). Share that they will read aloud the whole text once before they start working with their partners so that they can listen for the gist. While still displaying "Other Types of Fossils," complete a first read of the text. Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner: "What is the gist of the text, or what is it mostly about?" (It is about different types of fossils.) Ensure students recognize that this article is about different types of fossils that can be discovered: fossils stuck in sap, fossils in ice, fossils in tar. Tell students that before they start reading with their partners, you are going to model what it looks like to closely read a text with a partner. Invite a student volunteer to be your partner in front of the class. Begin reading the first paragraph. Model the following behaviors: One partner should read this section while the other partner listens and follows along. Read one sentence at a time clearly and with expression. Read loudly enough so only your partner can hear. Pause at the word stuck. Model stopping and breaking apart the word slowly: "st-u-ck." Reread the entire sentence again. Discuss the gist of this first section with your partner. Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner: "What is one thing you noticed me and my partner doing as we were reading the text?" (You read one section while your partner listened and followed along with his/her article. You were reading one sentence at a time. You read clearly and loudly enough so your partner could hear. You talked about the gist of that section with your partner. When you got stuck on a word, you looked for spelling patterns you knew and reread the sentence.) Invite students to whisper a response into their hands and ask: "What habit of character do you think you'll be using as you read this article with your partner?" (collaboration, responsibility) Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart. Confirm with students the importance of working well with their reading partner when reading the text together. Distribute "Other Types of Fossils." Tell students that they are going to read the first two sections. Tell them that each partner should read one section each. Tell students that you will make sure they have time to discuss the gist of each section. Remind students that we are all working on different things, and some of us may be able to read words that others cannot right away. Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner: "How can we support or collaborate with our partner if he or she gets stuck on a word?" Use equity sticks to call on students to share out. Confirm with students that they can do the following: Give your partner time to think and try again. Ask if there are spelling patterns your partner knows. Show your partner a spelling pattern if you see one and break up the word. If your partner still doesn't know the word, tell him or her what it is. If neither of you know the word, ask another partnership for help. Tell students that it is our job to support our reading partners, and that means helping them without telling them the answer right away. Move students into pre-determined partnerships to begin reading in their workspaces. Give them a moment to decide who will read first and ask that partner to raise his or her hand. After about 7-8 minutes, refocus whole group. Give students specific, positive feedback on reading closely with a partner. (Example: "You took turns reading each section. You supported your reading partner.") Invite students to turn and talk to their reading partner: "What was the gist of the first section you read?" (Sometimes animals become fossils when their whole body is preserved.) "What was the gist of the second section you read?" (Some fossils are animals that have been stuck in sap.) Use equity sticks to call on students to share out. Tell students that now that they understand the gist of each section, they will answer some selected response questions about the first two sections of the article. Direct students' attention to the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart. Remind them that they have been using this chart to answer selected response questions. Review the chart and explain that today students will be able to go back to their own text to find details to answer the questions. Display "Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions. Model answering the first question: "Reread Paragraph 1 to find the meaning of the word preserved. Circle the answer that tells the meaning of the word preserved." Model the following behaviors: Read the question. Cover the answer choices and go back to the text to find the answer. Read the first two sentences. Say: "Preserved means their bodies were saved. Yes, that's the detail I was looking for!" Read through option a and option b. Say: "Option b is my answer: Their bodies were saved. So, I will circle option b." Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with their reading partner: "What did you notice about how I answered the question?" (You looked back to the text for the answer. You found the detail you were looking for. Then you found the answer. You circled the answer.) Say: "You may not have noticed that I did not cross out answers that I knew were incorrect. That is because I was very confident of my answer and looked for the evidence in the text. There may be times when you are not as sure of the answer, so it will be important to cross out answers that are incorrect." Distribute "Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions to students. Read Questions 2-4 aloud. After reading Question 4, remind students that the main idea is the important thing the author wants the reader to know from reading the text. After reading through the questions, invite students to take turns reading questions with their partners and answering Questions 2-4 together. Circulate to support students as needed. Encourage them to refer to the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart as they are working with their partners. Consider using the Reading Informational Text Checklist to gather data on students' progress toward RI.2.1 and RI.2.2. After about 5 minutes, bring students' attention back to the whole group. Tell them that they are now going to review the answers to the questions. Say: "We do want to make sure we know the correct answer to the questions, but what is very important is thinking about how we figured out our answer. This will help us be the best close readers we can be and learn as much as we can from this article." Use equity sticks to select students to share out their answers for Questions 2-4 and clarify any misconceptions. Have students share both their answer and how and why they selected that answer. Refer to "Other Types of Fossils": Selected Response Questions (answers, for teacher reference) as necessary. Direct students' attention to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. Give them specific, positive feedback on their close reading skills. (Example: Reading small chunks of text slowly and thinking about the gist, Reading with their partners, etc.) Tell students they will finish the rest of the article in the next lesson.	To support sustained effort and persistence, strategically pair students with a supportive peer model. (MME) For ELLs: Consider pairing students with a partner who has more advanced or native language proficiency. The partner with greater language proficiency can serve as a model in the pair, initiating discussions and providing implicit sentence frames, for example. For ELLs: Model determining the gist of one section and writing it on the margins of the text next to the corresponding paragraph. (Example: Next to Paragraph 2, write: "animals covered in sap.") For ELLs: Reread the selected response question and response items aloud as necessary while students take a minute to choose their answers. For ELLs: Encourage students to rephrase each selected response question--and answer it--before they read each answer choice. Example: "Think about what the question is asking. Look at the first question: 'What can happen to insects that land in sap?' How else can we ask this question?" (What happens when bugs get in sticky sap?) For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of chunks from this selected response question: "What information / is learned / about the photo / from the caption?" Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples: "What is the meaning of this question?" (Responses will vary.) Point to and read the chunk What information. Ask: "What is this chunk about?" (It's about information.) Point to and read the chunk is learned. Ask: "What is learned?" (information) "The chunk says is learned. Who is learning here? What, in the question, makes you think so?" Tell students you will give them time to think and discuss with their partner. (The reader; us. We know this because the question is about the text, and we read the text. It wouldn't make sense if it were the fossil learning, for example.) Point to and read the chunk is learned about the photo. Ask: "What information is learned?" (information about the photo) Point to and read the chunk from the caption. Ask: "Where do we learn this information about the photo?" (from the caption) Point to and read the entire sentence, underlining the words as shown: What information / is learned / about the photo / from the caption? Ask: "What are the underlined words telling us?" Tell students you will give them time to think and discuss with their partner. (They're prepositions that tell us more about the thing that comes next, especially how that thing connects to something else in the sentence. For example, about tells us that photo is connected to the kind of information that is learned.) "What if we write, 'What information is learned from the caption about the photo?' Does it still make sense?" Tell students you will give them time to think and discuss with their partner. (Yes. We can switch the two prepositional phrases without changing the meaning.) "Now what do you think is the meaning of this question?" (Responses will vary.) "Can you figure out how to rephrase this question?" (What does the photo caption tell the reader?) "Can you complete the sentence frame?" I learned _____ about the photo from the photo. Remind students that any time they see a tricky question or sentence like this one, they can try to break it up as if they are doing their own Language Dive. For ELLs: After revealing the answer of the selected response question, take additional time to deconstruct the language in each response. Discuss what made each response correct or incorrect. (Example: "So why isn't response a correct? Right, sap doesn't come from cold weather. That makes no sense!")
B. Sorting Protocol: Sorting Fossils (15 minutes) Gather students in the whole group area. Tell students that they will use the information they just learned in "Other Types of Fossils" to sort pictures of fossils. Read Sections 3 and 4 of "Other Types of Fossils" aloud and briefly discuss the gist of each section. (The gist of the third section is that some fossils are animals that have been stuck in ice for many, many years. The gist of the fourth section is that some fossils are animals that have been stuck in tar for a very long time.) NOTE: You will work with these sections in greater depth in Lesson 9. Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second one aloud: "I can categorize different types of fossils by discussing my ideas with a partner." Tell students that another word for categorize is sort. Explain that students will receive pictures of different types of fossils and will collaborate with their reading partner to determine where the pictures should go. They will use the information they have learned from the article they just read, as well as what they had already learned about fossils. Display the Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer and the Different Types of Fossils pictures. Read through the different types of fossils that students will categorize. (Fossils Preserved in Sap, Fossils Preserved in Ice, Fossils Preserved in Tar, Body Fossils) Remind students that they just read about three types of fossils in "Other Types of Fossils": fossils that get stuck in sap, fossils preserved in ice, and fossils preserved in tar. Tell students that even though they didn't read about body fossils in this article, they learned about body fossils when they read Fossils. Remind students that body fossils are animal body parts that decayed and slowly turned to stone. Direct students' attention to the Sorting Protocol anchor chart and read through the steps. Answer clarifying questions. Tell students that just like they used collaboration to read the article together, they will also collaborate as they sort. Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group: "How will you collaborate with your partner during the Sorting protocol?" (take turns, listen closely, agree or disagree respectfully, take turns holding the cards, etc.) Tell students that it is okay if they do not sort all the fossils correctly--some of them may be tricky to figure out. Encourage students to use what they have learned from the text and what they notice in the pictures to help sort them. Distribute the Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer and Different Types of Fossils pictures. Release students back to their workspaces to sort with their partners. After 7-8 minutes, refocus students whole group. Use equity sticks to select partnerships to share out their answers and clarify any misconceptions. Refer to the Sorting Different Types of Fossils graphic organizer (answers, for teacher reference) as necessary. Point out the names of each fossil and read them aloud to students. Invite students to clean up their materials.	To support collaboration, involve students in a discussion about what respectful disagreement means. Reinforce the idea that disagreement can be positive and productive. (Example: "If my partner disagrees with my idea, that is okay. It means that my partner and I have an opportunity to share our thinking as we decide how to categorize the fossils.") (MME) For ELLs: Introduce language that partners can use with one another as they collaborate to sort the fossils. (Examples: "I think this fossil goes in this category. What do you think?" "I am not sure what kind of fossil this. Do you know what it is?")
C. Analyzing a Model: Museum Display Label (10 minutes) Gather students in the whole group area. Tell students that they have been learning about fossils and that you want to make sure others can see this learning too! Similar to the Curiosities Museum they created in Unit 1, tell students that they will make a museum display label for one of the fossil images they just sorted. Direct students' attention to the area of the room where the display will be. Read the title of the display aloud to students: "Different Types of Fossils." Tell students that the pictures of the fossils will be displayed, and just like in a museum exhibit, this exhibit will need labels that explain the pictures. Tell students that they are going to help make the labels for the display. Before they make their own label, tell students they will first look at a model of a label. Display the museum display label model. Tell students that you have written about a shark's tooth, which is a kind of body fossil. Read the model aloud to students. Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner: "What makes this a strong museum display label?" (states what is in the picture; includes two or three facts about how the fossil was formed; uses words from the Fossil Word Wall, like fossil and preserved) If productive, use a Goal 3 Conversation Cue to challenge students: "What if the museum labels did not have a lot of information? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary, but make include: People would not know what they were looking at.) Direct students' attention to the Criteria for a Museum Display Label anchor chart and confirm the criteria for the museum display label model with students. Tell students that they will choose a picture and write their museum display label in the next lesson.	To activate background knowledge of vocabulary in the model, highlight words and offer a brief definition as discussed in previous lessons. (MMR)

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes) Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and reread them aloud: "I can use evidence from the text 'Other Types of Fossils' to answer questions about different types of fossils." "I can categorize different types of fossils by discussing my ideas with a partner." Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner: "How did you use collaboration to meet one of the learning targets today?" (Responses will vary.) If productive, use a Goal 3 Conversation Cue to encourage students to think about their thinking: "How did sorting fossils add to your understanding of different kinds of fossils? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.) Cold call a few students to share out.	When cold calling, minimize discomfort, perceived threats, and distractions by alerting individual students that you are going to call on them next. (MME) For ELLs: Check for comprehension by asking students to summarize and then to personalize one of the learning targets. Ask them to paraphrase it and then to say how they feel about it. Example: "Can you put the learning target in your own words?" (I can put pictures of fossils in the right place.) "How did you feel about competing the learning target?" (I had fun learning about new kinds of fossils!)

Closing

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)

Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and reread them aloud:

"I can use evidence from the text 'Other Types of Fossils' to answer questions about different types of fossils."
"I can categorize different types of fossils by discussing my ideas with a partner."

Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner:

"How did you use collaboration to meet one of the learning targets today?" (Responses will vary.)

If productive, use a Goal 3 Conversation Cue to encourage students to think about their thinking:

"How did sorting fossils add to your understanding of different kinds of fossils? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.)

Cold call a few students to share out.

When cold calling, minimize discomfort, perceived threats, and distractions by alerting individual students that you are going to call on them next. (MME)
For ELLs: Check for comprehension by asking students to summarize and then to personalize one of the learning targets. Ask them to paraphrase it and then to say how they feel about it. Example: "Can you put the learning target in your own words?" (I can put pictures of fossils in the right place.) "How did you feel about competing the learning target?" (I had fun learning about new kinds of fossils!)

EL Education Curriculum