Reading Informational Texts: Researching Frog Adaptations, Part I | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M2:U2:L8

Reading Informational Texts: Researching Frog Adaptations, Part I

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • 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).
  • RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
  • W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
  • 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.
  • W.3.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can describe the connections between sentences, paragraphs, and pages on pages 6-7 and 32-33 of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. (RI.3.8)
  • I can use texts and images to research the answer to the question: How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and/or acts? (RI.3.7, W.3.7, W.3.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (RI.3.3, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.8)
  • Exit Ticket: Making Connections (RI.3.8)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Reader: KWEL Chart: Frogs (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Introducing the Writing Prompt (10 minutes)

B. Guided Research: Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures (15 minutes)

C. Partner Research: Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Exit Ticket: Making Connections (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Making Connections. Complete the Making Connections practice in your Unit 2 homework packet with the research reading you did today.

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

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students reread excerpts of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures that were read closely in the first half of this unit. They analyze the connections between sentences and paragraphs in the same excerpt (RI.3.8). Then they use the texts to answer a question: "How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and/or acts?" (RI.3.7, W.3.7, W.3.8)
  • Students are introduced to the writing prompt that will guide their research in this half of the unit.
  • In this latter half of the unit, students are gradually released to read, research, and write more independently than in the first half, which was largely teacher-led.
  • In this unit, the habit of character focus is working to contribute to a better world. The characteristic they are reminded of in this lesson is: use my strengths as they work with a partner to research.
  • The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to frogs and specifically how frogs look and act according to where they live. 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.
  • Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently as the teacher reads aloud from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures in Work Time B.
  • Students who finish quickly could extend their research to read additional pages in Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures--pages 18-19, for example--or to use texts from the research reading list.

How it builds on previous work:

  • Students continue to add to the KWEL Chart: Frogs.
  • Students use texts read closely in previous lessons to answer research questions.
  • Continue to use Goals 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas where students may need additional support:

  • Students may require additional support rereading the text to independently complete research.

Assessment Guidance:

  • Observe student work during and after the lesson to determine whether students will require additional support/teaching regarding using a text to answer a research question.
  • Use Exit Ticket: Making Connections (answers, for teacher reference) to assess student answers to the questions.
  • Consider using the Reading: Foundational Skills Informal Assessment: Phonics and Word Recognition Checklist (Grade 3) to informally assess students during their partner research in Work Time C.

Down the road:

  • In Lesson 9, students will continue to research the same question (How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and/or acts?), looking at new excerpts from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures.

In Advance

  • Post: Learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Opening A: Students complete the KWEL Chart: Frogs using word processing software or online document tools such as Google Docs.
  • Work Times A and B: Students add to their Freaky Frog research notebook using word processing software or online document tools such as Google Docs.
  • Opening A, Work Time B: Students complete their KWEL chart and research note-catchers in a word processing document, for example a Google Doc using Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software like Dictation.io.
  • Closing and Assessment: Students complete the Exit Ticket: Making Connections in a Google Form format, in which students click to select the correct answer.

Supporting English Language Learners

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

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by going beyond the sentence level to make connections between sentences. Strategic grouping during Partner Research will help students orally process the information they read in Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures, thereby contributing to language development.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to make connections, as it involves abstract language. Make this concept as concrete as possible at first and aim to scaffold toward more abstract connections. A good entry point for making connections may be a frame such as: "The two sentences are connected because they are both about ________." Once students grasp this, they will be able to make more sophisticated connections.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • For Work Time A, buy or ask for large paint chips from a local hardware or paint store or print them online. Write the words influence, affect, and make a difference, each one on a different shade of the paint chip. Place them on the wall and discuss the shades of meaning in relation to frog habitats.
  • Before providing sentence frames or additional modeling during Work Time B, observe student interaction and allow students to grapple. Provide supportive frames and demonstrations only after students have grappled with the task. Observe the areas in which they struggle to target appropriate support.

For heavier support:

  • The writing prompt in this lesson may be difficult to understand without schema about how animals are naturally selected for the environments in which they live. Consider showing a brief video about an animal whose behavior and features are influenced by its environment. Example: Penguins huddle together to keep their eggs warm because it is so cold where they live.
  • Some students may still have some confusion about the process of creating a cohesive paragraph. When reviewing the writing process, display examples of note-catchers and drafts to jog their memory about each step. In preparation for the end of unit assessment, focus on empowering students to independently make use of anchor charts and their Informative Writing Checklist.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, some students may need additional support understanding parts of speech. Consider providing some direct instruction about the function of linking words in advance. Model identifying linking words in sentences and discuss what these words tell us about the connections within and between sentences. Consider using the sentences that students will look at during the lesson.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): In this lesson, some students may need additional support with expressive language. Facilitate communication by providing ample wait time and support as they organize their thoughts. This way, all students can benefit from peer interaction during the discussion.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement: Invite students to reflect on their learning from previous lessons in this unit.  This supports students in understanding the value and relevance of the activities in this lesson. Provide support for students who may need additional guidance in peer interactions and collaboration. To support students who may need additional support in sustaining effort and/or attention, provide opportunities for restating the goal. In doing so, students are able to maintain focus for completing the activity. 

Vocabulary

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

  • connections, elaboration (L)
  • affects (T)

Materials

  • Freaky Frog research notebook (from Lesson 1; one per student)
    • KWEL Chart: Frogs (page 1 of Freaky Frog research notebook)
    • Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (page 4 of Freaky Frog research notebook)
  • Affix lists (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Frog Adaptations writing prompt (one per student and one to display)
  • Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures (from Lesson 1; one per student and one to display)
  • Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (answers, for teacher reference)
  • Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Exit Ticket: Making Connections (one per student)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Exit Ticket: Making Connections (answers, for teacher reference)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

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: KWEL Chart (5 minutes)

  • Invite students to take out their Freaky Frog research notebook and turn to the KWEL Chart: Frogs on page 1.
  • Remind students what each letter represents.
  • Invite students to record any new learning or questions from the past couple of lessons on their KWEL Chart: Frogs. For example, the text read for the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (pages 16-17 of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures) may have contained information they want to record or may have provoked more questions that they would like to research.
  • For students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for written expression: Write sentence frames in advance on the KWEL chart for Opening A. If students need to work on asking questions, have them focus on the W column, providing sentence frames to guide their work. If students need to work on referring explicitly to a text, have them focus on the L column, providing sentence frames to guide their work. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Prompt students to ask questions about parts of the assessment that featured particularly challenging language. Example: "I was wondering, what did the author mean by 'markings can be deceptive'?"

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and invite a volunteer to read the first one aloud:

"I can describe the connections between sentences, paragraphs, and pages on pages 6-7 and 32-33 of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures."

  • Underline the word connections. Invite students to retrieve their affix lists.
  • Record on a table drawn on the board with "Suffix" and "Root" in the header row. In the "Suffix" column, write "-tion (act of, state of, result of)" and in the "Root" column write "connect (join together)."
  • Ask students to discuss with an elbow partner and select students to share out:

"What are connections?" (how people or things are joined together; links or relationships between people or things)

"What do we mean by connections between sentences and paragraphs in text?" (how one part of the text is related to another)

  • Provide examples as necessary: One sentence might provide the main idea, and the next sentence might provide details; one paragraph might describe the problem, and the next the solution; each paragraph might tell an event in sequence, first/next/then.
  • Add connections to academic word wall. Invite students to add translations of the word in their home languages in a different color next to the target vocabulary.
  • Invite students to also add the word to their vocabulary logs.
  • Select a volunteer to read the second learning target aloud:

"I can use texts and images to research the answer to the question: How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and/or acts?"

  • Tell students that today they are going to reread familiar sections from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures to find an answer to this question.
  • For ELLs and students who may benefit from visual supports: Provide the opportunity to draw or sketch definitions, act them out, or list synonyms for key terms in learning targets, such as describe, connections, texts and images, and research. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: When providing examples of connections, use concrete examples from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. Think aloud finding a connection from the book. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Use hand gestures when using the words connection and between to illustrate the concepts.
  • For ELLs: Ask: "What is the meaning of the word between?" (in the middle; the space separating something from another) "The words connections and between are often used together as a phrase and can be learned as a phrase, e.g., 'The connection between humidity and a frog's ability to breathe is that humidity keeps a frog's skin moist for breathing.'"

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Introducing the Writing Prompt (10 minutes)

  • Distribute and display the Frog Adaptations writing prompt.
  • Select a volunteer to read the prompt (the writing at the top of the page) aloud.
  • Focus students on the question and underline the word affects. Ask students to discuss with an elbow partner:

"What does affects mean?" (has an effect on or makes a difference to)

  • Invite students to say the prompt in their own words to their elbow partner and select students to share out.
  • Answer clarifying questions about the prompt.
  • Tell students that for the rest of the unit, they will focus on writing a response to this prompt.
  • Ask students to discuss with an elbow partner and cold call students to share out:

"Think about the short pieces of writing you have created so far in this unit. What steps did you take to create those? What steps do you need to take to respond to this prompt?" (reading and research, taking notes, and organizing the notes into writing)

  • Direct students to the process steps outlined on their writing prompt and invite volunteers to read each step aloud. Emphasize that these are the steps students will take to create their writing.
  • For students who may need additional support with fluency: Invite them to practice reading the Frog Adaptations writing prompt in advance and then call on them to read aloud to the class during this lesson. Giving these students an opportunity for public success will build their confidence and internal motivation. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Remind students that prompt means instructions that tell them what to write about.
  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of the chunks of a key sentence from the prompt: How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and/or acts? Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples:
    • "This is a how question, so what is it asking you to explain?" (the way that something happens or what makes something possible)
    • "It also says where, so is it a where question?" (No, there is no helping verb do after the word, so where, in this case, means the place.)
    • "What does affect mean?" (make a difference in or change)
    • "Here it says how it looks. In this case, what does it mean? Is it asking another question?" (It is not asking a question; it means the way that it looks.)
    • "What is it?" (the frog)
    • "What else might the place that a frog lives affect? How do you know?" (the way it acts; it says so at the end of the sentence)
    • "What is and/or? What is the symbol between them? What are these connecting words saying?" (In the writing, you can talk about where a frog lives, how it acts, or both. The symbol is a forward slash. It means "one or the other or both.")
    • "How might the place where you live change the way you look or act?" (If I live somewhere warm, I will play outside all the time, but if I live somewhere cold, I might stay inside and watch TV.)
    • "Can you say the prompt in your own words?" (How does the place where a frog lives make a difference in the way it looks or behaves or both?)

B. Guided Research: Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures (15 minutes)

  • Display the Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher and invite students to turn to their own copy on page 4 of their Freaky Frog research notebook.
  • Give students a couple of minutes to look at the note-catcher before asking:

"What do you notice?" (links to writing prompt, spaces for the frog and where it lives, the adaptation and elaboration)

"What is elaboration? What might you write in this column?" (details about how the adaption helps it to survive)

  • Invite students to take out their copies of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures and turn to pages 6-7. Remind them that these pages should look familiar to them.
  • Focus students on the note-catcher and read it aloud, beginning with the blue column on the left and stopping at the points outlined below.
  • Once you have read the text in the blue column, stop and focus students on the use of the word but, which is used twice. Reread the text emphasizing these words.
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge. Ask students to discuss with an elbow partner and select volunteers to share their responses:

"Can you figure out the purpose of but in these sentences? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (It links two ideas. In the first sentence, it helps compare amphibians to reptiles. In the second, it adds an additional detail to the information presented previously.)

  • Emphasize that but is a linking word; it links two ideas.
  • Once you have read all of page 6 of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures, focus students on the text in the signpost at the top of the page. Ask them to discuss with an elbow partner and cold call students to share out:

"How are the text in the signpost and the text in the blue column connected?" (They are about amphibians.)

  • Focus students on the text in the bubble on page 6, beginning with "Most amphibians breed in water," and reread it, inviting students to chorally read it with you.
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge. Tell students you will give them time to think and discuss with their partner. Select volunteers to share their responses with the whole group:

"Can you figure out the connection between the text in this bubble and the text in the blue column on the other side of the page?" (The text in the blue column introduces amphibians and describes some of the things that make them unique, with reptiles as a comparison. The text in the bubble builds on this by explaining another way amphibians are unique in comparison to reptiles.)

"Can you figure out why the author included information about reptiles here?" (to show a comparison to highlight how unique those adaptations and behaviors are)

"Can you figure out the connection between the two sentences in this bubble? How are they related?" (The first sentence tells a fact about amphibians breeding, and the second sentence provides further information about this process and compares the process to another class of animals.)

  • Once you have read aloud page 7, focus students on the text boxes under the water on page 7. Ask them to discuss with their partner and cold call students to share their responses with the whole group:

"What is the connection between the text on page 6 and the text boxes under the water on page 7?" (The information on page 7 continues to provide more details about amphibians, with a focus on young amphibians.)

  • Focus students on the text about the tree frog. Ask them to discuss with an elbow partner and select volunteers to share out:

"What is the connection between this text and the rest of the text on pages 6-7?" (The text on page 6 describes how amphibians have moist skin that needs to stay damp to help them breathe through their skin. The text about the tree frog explains that this frog gets its moisture from humidity.)

  • Ask students to refer to their Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (also displayed). Encourage them to discuss with an elbow partner and select volunteers to share out:

"Pages 6-7 are mostly about amphibians, but are there any frogs mentioned on those pages that have special adaptations to help it survive wherever it lives?" (tree frog)

"Where does it live?" (rain forest)

"What adaptation does it have?" (long, sticky fingers)

"How does this help it to survive?" (helps it to climb trees, where it can stay moist to breathe through its skin)

"How does the picture on this page help you to understand more about this adaptation?" (It shows the long fingers of the frog.)

  • Model recording in the first row on the displayed note-catcher and invite students to complete theirs with this example. Refer to the Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (answers, for teacher reference).
  • For students who may need help organizing ideas for written expression: Write sentence frames in advance on the Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher for Work Time B. (MMAE)
  • For students who may need additional support finding connections in various sections of text: Consider highlighting, color-coding, or drawing lines to specific words or phrases that show connections in each section of the text. (MMR)

C. Partner Research: Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures (20 minutes)

  • Tell students that they are going to work with a partner to repeat this process with pages 32-33 of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures.
  • Invite students to turn to pages 32-33 in their books. Read these pages aloud while students follow along, reading silently in their heads.
  • Focus students on the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart, specifically using my strengths. Remind students that as they will be working in pairs as they work, they will need to use their strengths to help their partner as they research.
  • Invite students to work in pairs to continue filling out their Frog Adaptations Research note-catchers. Circulate to support them. Refer to the Frog Adaptations Research note-catcher (answers, for teacher reference).
  • Focus students on the 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.
  • Repeat, inviting students to self-assess against how well they used their strengths in this lesson.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing fluency: Model doing quick sketches within the graphic organizer as placeholders for information. Say: "You can sketch first so that you don't forget the information you want to add. Then you may go back later and write." (MMAE)
  • For students who may need additional support finding connections in various sections of text: Use the same highlighting, color-coding, or drawing of lines to specific words or phrases that show connections in each section of the text as was used during Work Time B. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: As students interact, jot down some present tense verb errors that are impeding communication. Briefly review the verb tense for the whole class. Encourage the students to identify the verb that communicates the message clearly and accurately.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Exit Ticket: Making Connections (5 minutes)

  • Refocus the whole group. Ask students to keep out their copy of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures.
  • Distribute Exit Ticket: Making Connections.
  • Focus students on the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart and remind them of the strategies they can use to answer these questions.
  • Focus students on the text on page 32 and the top paragraph of text on page 33 ("Glass frogs are more transparent ...").
  • Read the first question on the exit ticket aloud and select students to read each option aloud. Invite students to underline the answer they think is correct.
  • Cold call a student to share with the class the response he or she chose and why. Refer to the Exit Ticket: Making Connections (answers, for teacher reference).
  • Focus students on the text on the bottom half of page 33 (the text in the big bubble and the two bottom paragraphs on the left).
  • Repeat this process with the second question.
  • Ask students to discuss with an elbow partner:

"How do the photographs on pages 32-33 help you to better understand the adaptations of the glass frog?" (You can see how see-through it is and how it is camouflaged on the leaf.)

  • For students who may need additional reading support: Consider adding simple sketches to their exit ticket or reading the options aloud more than one time to ensure they know what each one says. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Allow extra wait time for students to process selected response questions. Make note of those who seem to be having trouble with understanding the language and format of the questions. Clarify as needed.

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Making Connections. Complete the Making Connections practice in your Unit 2 homework packet with the research reading you did today.

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

  • For ELLs: Consider providing additional prompts and frames to guide their thinking about making connections. After they have used the prompts, have them write at least one connection on their own.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading and writing: Refer to the suggested homework support in Lesson 1. (MMAE)

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