Close Read: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18–19 | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M1:U2:L2

Close Read: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18–19

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • RI.3.2: Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
  • RI.3.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
  • W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
  • L.3.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • L.3.4a: Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  • L.3.4b: Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).
  • L.3.4d: Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can refer explicitly to the text when answering questions about the text. (RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.4, RI.3.7, W.3.2, W.3.8, L.3.4, L.3.4a, L.3.4b, L.3.4d)
  • I can find the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. (RI.3.4, L.3.4, L.3.4a, L.3.4b, L.3.4d)
  • I can determine the main idea of a text and explain how key details support the main idea. (RI.3.1, RI.3.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.4, RI.3.7, W.3.2, W.3.8, L.3.4, L.3.4a, L.3.4b, L.3.4d)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Reader (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Close Reading: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (25 minutes)

B. Mini Lesson: Determining the Main Idea (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Overcoming Learning Challenges (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

B. For ELLs: Complete Language Dive Practice I in your Unit 2 homework.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students participate in a teacher-led close read of pages 18-19 of My Librarian Is a Camel. This close read guides students through analyzing the main idea of this excerpt and using information from the photographs to demonstrate understanding of the text (RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.4, RI.3.7, L.3.4).
  • The close reading is mostly teacher-led, so all students work at the pace the teacher sets, with support when necessary. Consider inviting students who need an extension opportunity to be peer coaches.
  • Students practice their fluency by following along and reading silently as the teacher reads excerpts from My Librarian Is a Camel in Opening A and Work Times A and B.
  • The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to overcoming challenges in access to education, books, and reading near and far. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

How it builds on previous work:

  • In Lesson 1, students previewed My Librarian Is a Camel and read pages 18-19 for gist.
  • Throughout Unit 1, students were introduced to various total participation techniques (e.g., cold calling, equity sticks, Turn and Talk, Think-Pair-Share, etc.). When following the directive "Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group," use one of these techniques or another familiar technique to encourage all students to participate.
  • Continue to use Goal 1 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas where students may need additional support:

  • Throughout this lesson, students should work with a reading partner. Strategically pair students so they can support one another well as they read this complex text.
  • Some students may need additional support completing their Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19. Consider inviting those students to write key words or draw pictures to complete the note-catcher. Also consider drawing lines on their note-catchers to help them organize their notes.

Assessment guidance:

  • Throughout the teacher-led close read, call on students to share their responses with the whole group to build knowledge collectively and clarify any misconceptions. As students are writing, circulate to clarify misunderstandings and use these as teaching points for the whole group.

Down the road:

  • Students will write about what they have learned about how people around the world have overcome the challenge of access to books in the second half of this unit.
  • Students will use the Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 when analyzing a model informational paragraph and learning to write focus statements in the second half of the unit. Because of this, the focus statement on the note-catcher should be left blank for now.

In Advance

  • Read the Close Reading Guide: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 in conjunction with the text to familiarize yourself with what will be required of students.
  • Prepare the sentence strip chunks for use during the Language Dive (see supporting materials).
  • Post: Learning targets, Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, and Overcoming Learning Challenges anchor chart. 

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: For students who will benefit from hearing the text read aloud multiple times, consider using a text-to-speech tool like Natural Reader, SpeakIt! for Google Chrome, or the Safari reader. Note that to use a web-based text-to-speech tool like SpeakIt! or Safari reader, you will need to create an online doc, such as a Google Doc, containing the text.
  • Work Time A: Students complete their note-catchers in a word-processing document, such as a Google Doc, using speech-to-text facilities activated on devices or using an app or software like Dictation.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 3.I.B.6, 3.I.B.7, 3.I.B.8, and 3.I.C.10

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to read a complex text and determine the main ideas. This will allow students to expand their vocabularies and negotiate meaning through complex syntax.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to analyze and synthesize broader ideas within the text, as they may struggle to comprehend the text itself. Give students opportunities to ask questions about the meaning of the text. Invite them to use photographs to support their comprehension of the ideas within the text. Allow them to use their bodies and gestures and to act out parts of the text.
  • After the close read, ELLs are invited to participate in a Language Dive conversation (optional). This conversation guides them through expanding the meaning of a sentence found in My Librarian Is a Camel. It also provides further practice using the expression "hungry for books." Students may draw on this sentence when writing about book access challenges later in the unit. A consistent Language Dive routine is critical in helping all students learn how to decipher complex sentences and write their own. In addition, Language Dive conversations hasten overall English language development for ELLs. Review the Language Dive Guide and consider how to invite conversation among students to address the questions and goals suggested under each sentence strip chunk (see supporting materials). Select from the questions and goals provided to best meet your students' needs. Consider providing students with a Language Dive log inside a folder to track Language Dive sentences and structures and collate Language Dive note-catchers.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During the Mini Language Dive, challenge students to generate questions about the sentence before asking the prepared questions. Example: "What questions can we ask about this sentence? Let's see if we can answer them together." (What does determine mean? Why are key details important?)
  • Provide shorter sentence frames during the close read and during the Closing and Assessment. Examples: "The climate ______." "The text ______." "I think ______." This will prompt language while requiring students to generate more of their own syntax and content.

For heavier support:

  • During the close read, support beginning proficiency students by encouraging them to participate in the parts that require acting out. Dictate lines for them to recite so that they practice using verbal language.
  • During the close read, distribute a partially filled-in copy of the Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19. This will provide students with models for the kind of information they should enter and reduce the volume of writing required so that their attention is less divided between language comprehension and taking notes. Refer to the Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (answers, for teacher reference) to determine which sections of the note-catcher to provide for students.
  • Model and think aloud the process of using photographs to help determine the main idea. Example: "I see a camel ... with books! What might that tell us about the main idea? I wonder if we can find the word camel in one of the topic sentences."

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation: An important learning target in this lesson is to identify the main idea. Students use the Determining the Main Idea handout to scaffold their learning. Consider representing the handout's content in multiple ways. For instance, next to the item that reads, "The heading and topic sentences of each paragraph can be used as clues to determine the main idea," glue a printout of a short paragraph with the heading and the topic sentence underlined in red marker. This will help students contextualize the key points of the handout.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Since My Librarian Is a Camel is a complex text, provide supports during Work Time to assist students in accessing it. (Examples: Provide an audio version of the text excerpt or limit the complexity of the excerpt by highlighting key areas that students should focus on.) This lesson also requires that students communicate through expressive language. Consider providing sentence frames as a support.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement: Build excitement about the setting of My Librarian Is a Camel. Bring in multimedia that provides information about Kenya (e.g., video, music, folktales, or pictures). Students may want to research the country on the computer and share what they find with the class. Not only does this build excitement, but it also builds background knowledge and facilitates comprehension. 

Vocabulary

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

  • explicitly, key details, main idea, refer, support (L)
  • coast, impassable, inland, nomad, northern, (T)

See Textual Analysis Resources online for additional academic vocabulary to teach with My Librarian Is a Camel.

Materials

  • My Librarian Is a Camel (book; from Lesson 1; one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Facsimiles of pages 18-19 from My Librarian Is a Camel (from Lesson 1; one per student)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Unit 1, Lesson 5; one per student)
  • Close Read N0te-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (one per student)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 3)
  • Close Reading Guide: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (for teacher reference)
  • Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (answers, for teacher reference)
  • Sticky notes (several per student)
  • Language Dive Guide I: My Librarian Is a Camel (optional; for ELLs; for teacher reference; see supporting materials)
    • Language Dive Sentence strip chunks I: My Librarian Is a Camel (optional; for ELLs; one to display)
    • Language Dive Note-catcher I: My Librarian Is a Camel (optional; for ELLs; one per student and one to display)
    • Blue and red markers (optional; for ELLs; one of each per student)
  • Determining the Main Idea handout (one per student and one to display)
  • Overcoming Learning Challenges anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 3; added to during Closing and Assessment A)
  • Overcoming Learning Challenges anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 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 their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Reader (5 minutes)

  • Move students into predetermined pairs and invite them to label themselves A and B.
  • Display My Librarian Is a Camel and invite students to take out their copies of the facsimiles of pages 18-19 from My Librarian Is a Camel.
  • Invite students to skim pages 18-19, then turn and talk with their partner:

"What is one detail you learned about Kenya, one fact about the physical environment in Kenya, and one question you still have?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Post sentence frames on the board, as necessary:
    • One fact I learned about Kenya is _____.
    • One detail I learned about the physical environment is _____.
    • I wonder _____.
  • Select volunteers to share with the group.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Write a list of the information required for the share out, briefly review the list, and clarify each item. Check for comprehension by asking a student to repeat the list. (Example: "Hmm ... one thing I learned about Kenya is--oh, I see here on the map it is in Africa. So, one thing I learned about Kenya is that it is in Africa.") MMR

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:
    • "I can refer explicitly to the text when answering questions about the text."
    • "I can find the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary."
    • "I can determine the main idea of a text and explain how key details support the main idea."
  • Underline the words refer and explicitly in the first target.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What does it mean to explicitly refer to the text when answering questions about the text?" (to clearly point back to the text; to find evidence in the text that proves the answer to a question about the text)

  • Remind students that in the previous unit, they closely read literary texts, or stories, and answered questions using words and phrases from the text.
  • Remind students that in this unit, they will closely read informational texts to learn more about a topic, and when they read they will practice referring explicitly to the text and finding the meaning of words they do not know, just as they did in Unit 1.
  • Circle the phrase main idea in the third target. Tell students that the main idea is what a text is about overall--the important thing the author wants the reader to know.
  • Tell students that in this lesson, they will closely reread pages 18-19 of My Librarian Is a Camel, thinking about the main idea of the text.
  • Record "main idea" on the Academic Word Wall and invite students to record it in the front of their vocabulary log, as it is a phrase they will hear frequently in relation to skills.
  • When discussing the first learning target, discuss why explicit examples are important in students' writing. Explain that this is a way to signal to readers that you understand the text. Say: "Explicit examples help to support your answer." (MME)
  • When discussing the third learning target, clarify the difference between the main idea and the gist. (MMR)
  • Provide background knowledge for students by providing information about Kenya, including pictures, text, and audio such as music. This can also be a way to get students more engaged in the text. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the last learning target. Examples:

"What is determine in our home languages?" (malaman in Filipino) Invite all students to repeat the translation in a different home language.

"What does determine mean? You can use your dictionaries." (find out or decide)

"What exactly will you decide?" (the main idea of a text) Invite students to draw an arrow from determine to main idea.

"What is another way to say 'main idea of a text'?" (what the book is mostly about)

"What does 'key details' mean? What makes a detail key? (important facts; it helps prove the main idea)

- Draw a box to represent the main idea. Draw three columns labeled Key Details. Say:

"Let us pretend that our main idea is 'recess is fun.' What are some important facts that prove recess is fun?" (We can play, we can exercise, we can talk to our friends.)

- Write each key detail offered in the boxes representing columns. Ask:

"What would happen if we did not support this main idea with key details?" (It would fall down.)

- Read the sentence again. Ask:

"Can someone say the learning target in their own words?" (We need to find what the text is about and find the facts that make the main idea true.)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Close Reading: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (25 minutes)

  • Distribute the Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 and invite students to keep out their facsimiles of pages 18-19.
  • Inform students that they are going to closely read these two pages and that they will work with this section and others from the book over the next several lessons.
  • Direct students' attention to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart and quickly review it.
  • Tell students you are going to guide them through this close read. Some of the questions will be discussed as a whole group, and others will be discussed with a partner.
  • Lead students through the Close Reading Guide: My Librarian Is a Camel: Pages 18-19 (for teacher reference) using the Close Read Note-catcher: My Librarian Is a Camel, Pages 18-19 (answers, for teacher reference).
  • Refer to the guide for the use of the sticky notes.
  • Refer to the Language Dive Guide in the supporting materials for guidance on the Language Dive and use of the sentence strip chunks.
  • Refocus students on the first two learning targets. Read each one aloud, pausing after each to use a checking for understanding protocol for students to reflect on their comfort level with or show how close they are to meeting each target. Make note of students who may need additional support with each of the learning targets moving forward.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Provide key sections that are pre-highlighted in their texts. This will help the students focus on smaller sections rather than scanning the whole text. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Pair students with a partner who has more advanced or native language proficiency. The partner with greater English language proficiency can serve as a model in the pair, initiating discussions and providing implicit sentence frames.
  • Provide differentiated mentors by purposefully pre-selecting student partnerships. Consider meeting with the mentors in advance to encourage them to share their thought processes with their partner. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with expressive language: During the close read, display sentence frames for turn and talks. Examples:
    • "The text looks different because ______."
    • "These pages focus on the country _______."
    • "The climate is _______." (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: During the close read, display the text on a document camera or as an enlarged copy to help direct students to the appropriate sentences on each page. (MMR)
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Offer choice with the close read note-catcher by providing a template that includes lines. (MMR, MME)

B. Mini Lesson: Determining the Main Idea (15 minutes)

  • Tell students that when authors of informational texts write about a topic, they have a main idea they want to explain to the reader.
  • Display and distribute the Determining the Main Idea handout and read the definition for main idea at the top of the handout:
    • "The main idea is what a text is about overall--the important thing the author wants the reader to know."
  • Tell students that authors develop the main idea of a text by including key details that support or explain the main idea.
  • Explain that authors often give clues about the main idea. Read the second and third bullets on the handout:
    • "Many times, but not always, the first sentence of a paragraph states the main idea of the paragraph. This is often referred to as the topic sentence."
    • "The heading and topic sentences of each paragraph can be used as clues to determine the main idea."
  • Model determining the main idea of pages 18-19:
    • Reread pages 18-19 paragraph by paragraph, thinking aloud about the important thing the author wants the reader to know. (Library camels bring books to people living in hard-to-reach places in Kenya.)
    • Use the heading, topic sentences, photographs, and identifying key details to confirm the original thinking about the main idea or more precisely focus this thinking.
  • Invite students to write the main idea of this section at the bottom of their Close Read note-catcher.
  • Tell students they will have a chance to practice determining the main idea of an excerpt from this text later on in the unit.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What strategies did you use today to help you closely read this text? How did these strategies help you to better understand the text?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Refocus students on the last learning target. Read it aloud and use a checking for understanding protocol for students to reflect on their comfort level with or show how close they are to meeting each target. Make note of students who may need additional support with each of the learning targets moving forward.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: While discussing how to determine the main idea, project or enlarge a sample paragraph of the text with photographs. While referring to different parts of the text, invite students to the board to identify each part by underlining, boxing, or circling it with a marker. (Example: "Clara, where is the first sentence of the paragraph? Can you underline it? I need to find it because it can give me a clue about the main idea!") (MMR, MME)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Overcoming Learning Challenges (10 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the Overcoming Learning Challenges anchor chart. Remind students that they used this chart throughout Unit 1 to record learning challenges faced by the characters in the books they read and how these characters overcame the challenge.
  • If necessary, clarify the meanings of the headings of each column and review a challenge on the anchor chart.
  • Tell students that they will continue to use this anchor chart in this unit. Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What challenge are we focusing on in this unit?" (access to books)

  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share, leaving adequate time for each partner to think, ask the question to their partner, and partner share:

"What challenge did you read about on pages 18-19 of My Librarian Is a Camel, and how did the people in this part of the world overcome that challenge?" (It is difficult to get to Bulla Iftin because of the desert sand, so people have used library camels to get books to the village.)

  • If productive, cue students to clarify their answer by confirming what they mean:

"So, do you mean _____?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Add a new row to the anchor chart and select volunteers to share out. As students share, capture their responses on the anchor chart. Refer to the Overcoming Learning Challenges anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with new vocabulary: Rephrase challenges and overcoming challenges. Example: "A challenge is a test, puzzle, or problem that requires you to work or think hard to complete. When we overcome challenges, we complete the hard task successfully. What are some challenges you have had? How did you overcome those challenges?" (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with expressive language: Use a sentence frame to support student participation. (Example: "The challenge I read about was ______." "The community solved the challenge by _____ and _____.") (MMAE)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

B. For ELLs: Complete Language Dive Practice I in your Unit 2 homework.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing: Discuss and respond to your prompts orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from grades 1 or 2, or record a response. (MMAE)

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