Reading Informational Texts: Researching Possible Solutions for Issues Related to Water | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M4:U2:L6

Reading Informational Texts: Researching Possible Solutions for Issues Related to Water

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • 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.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can research to build knowledge about solutions for and the importance of conserving water. (W.3.7, W.3.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Research note-catchers (W.3.7, W.3.8)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Reader: One Well, Pages 28-29 (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Target (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Guided Practice: Researching Solutions and Importance (20 minutes)

B. Independent Practice: Researching Solutions and Importance (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Pair Share: Water Issues Research (15 minutes)

4. Homework

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

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • In this lesson, students read a new excerpt from One Well and reread texts from throughout the module to research solutions for issues related to water and the importance of working to solve these problems (W.3.7, W.3.8).
  • Students focus on working to contribute to a better world, focusing on a characteristic of their choice as they research possible solutions for issues related to water. How this lesson builds on previous work:
  • Students began researching issues related to water in Unit 1. In this lesson, they practice the research skills they developed in Unit 1 and add information to the research note-catchers they used in Unit 1.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may require additional support when researching. Consider identifying specific texts for students to reread or specific excerpts from these texts to help students focus in on the most relevant parts for their research.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review students' research note-catchers to identify common issues to use as whole group teaching points.

Down the road:

  • Students will use their research about issues related to water to write opinion essays about the importance of conserving water in the second half of the unit

In Advance

  • Pre-determine two groups for research in Work Time B.
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-3 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standard 3.I.C.10

Important points in the lesson itself 

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to read a text for gist before digging deeper into the text later in the lesson, to practice determining the meaning of words using context, and to work as a class and then in groups to complete the research they started in Unit 1 on water issues.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to conduct research in groups during Work Time B. Encourage students to review their research note-catchers from Unit 1 before this lesson. Consider working closely with a group of students who need more support, providing additional modeling for identifying relevant information from the texts as needed. See Meeting Students' Needs for additional suggestions.

Levels of support
For lighter support:

  • During Opening A, challenge students to determine the function of the word well in the section title, "Becoming Well Aware." (It is an adverb because it is describing the adjective aware.)Challenge students to use the word well in a sentence, serving the function of an adverb. (Example: We have become well educated about the need for water conservation.)

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time B, consider providing students with pre-written sticky notes with phrases or sentences that represent the information needed from each text (ways to solve their group's issue--action, and why it's important to solve the issue--call to action). Students can match the information on the sticky notes with each section of their water issues research note-catchers.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): This lesson offers a variety of visual anchors to cue students' thinking. Continue to support students by creating additional or individual anchor charts for reference and charting student responses during whole class discussions to aid with comprehension.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): This lesson offers several opportunities for students to engage in discussion with partners. Continue to support those who may struggle with expressive language by providing sentence frames to help them organize their thoughts.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Invite students to reflect on their learning from previous lessons in this unit to support them in understanding the value and relevance of the activities in this lesson. Continue to provide prompts and sentence frames for those students who require them

Vocabulary

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

  • solutions, importance, issue, impact, action, call to action (L)
  • conservation, aware (T)

Materials

  • One Well (from Unit 1, Lesson 2; one per student and one to display)
  • Academic Word Wall (begun in Module 1)
  • Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Vocabulary logs (begun in Module 1; one per student)
  • Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Research note-catchers (one per student and one to display):
    • Access to Water (from Unit 1, Lesson 7)
    • Demands on Water (from Unit 1, Lesson 9)
    • Water Pollution (from Unit 1, Lesson 11)
  • Research note-catchers (example, for teacher reference)
    • Access to Water
    • Demands on Water
    • Water Pollution
  • Performance Task anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (one to display; for teacher modeling)
  • Units 1 and 2 texts (one per student):
    • "The Problems and Solutions to Safe Water in Africa" (from Unit 1, Lesson 8)
    • "Population Growth"(from Unit 1, Lesson 10)
    • "Real Lives: Angola, Africa" (from Lesson 3)
    • "Dry Days in Australia" (from Lesson 4)

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: One Well, Pages 28-29 (5 minutes) 

  • Move students into pairs.
  • Display and invite students to retrieve their copies of One Well and turn to page 28.
  • Read pages 28-29 aloud as students read along silently in their heads ("Becoming Well Aware").
  • Think-Pair-Share:

"What is the gist of these pages? What are they mostly about?" (becoming more aware of how you use water is a big way to protect the water on Earth)

  • Focus students on the words conservation and aware on page 28.
  • Think-Pair-Share:

"Using the context and reading around the word, what do you think conservation means?" (the protection of a natural resource)
"Using the context and reading around the word, what do you think aware means?" (knowing or careful of something)

  • Add these words to the Academic and Domain-Specific Word Walls with translations in home languages.
  • Before reading, provide white boards and dry-erase markers as an option for students to record (in drawing or writing) their ideas. This scaffolds active listening. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Reading Aloud Twice) Consider reading pages 28-29 of One Well two times before inviting students to discuss the gist.
  • For ELLs: (Parts of Speech: Noticing) When discussing the word conservation,point out the word conserve in the second heading on page 29. Ask:

"What is the difference between the words conservation and conserve?"(Conservation is a noun and means the protection of natural resources. Conserve is a verb and describes the act of protecting a natural resource.) 

  • For ELLs: (Visual Reinforcement/Acting Out Word Meanings) Consider adding a sketch or drawing next to conservation and aware as you add them to the Word Walls and/or inviting students to act out the meaning as each word is added.

B. Reviewing Learning Target (5 minutes) 

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning target and read it aloud:

"I can research to build knowledge about solutions for and the importance of conserving water."

  • Remind students that they began researching issues related to water in Unit 1.
  • Underline and use the vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to review and/or determine the meaning of the following words. Add any new words to the Academic and Domain-Specific Word Walls and invite students to add them to their vocabulary logs.
    • solutions (answers to a problem or question)
    • importance (the quality of having great value)
  • Focus students on the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart and invite them to read the habits of character on the chart to themselves. Tell students to choose a habit to focus on as they research today.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Invite students to restate the learning target in their own words. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Summarizing the Target) Ask students to summarize and then to personalize the learning target.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Guided Practice: Researching Solutions and Importance(20 minutes) 

  • Display and invite students to retrieve their Research Note-catcher: Access to Water.
  • Focus students on the question at the top of the note-catcher:
    • "Why must we act now to protect our water supply?"
  • Remind students of the Performance Task anchor chart and of the PSA they will create about a water issue, and how they have been reading texts throughout Units 1-2 to help them research to answer this question.
  • Focus students on the top two boxes of the note-catcher and remind them of the meaning of each word:
    • Issue (a problem for discussion)
    • Impact (having a strong effect on something or someone)
  • Use a total participation technique to review the issue related to water that students researched and recorded notes about, and then review the impact.
  • Focus students on the two boxes underneath and review the meaning of each word:
    • Action (doing something)
    • Call to Action (wanting to do something about it)
  • Read the questions inside these boxes. Think-Pair-Share:

"Do we have the information we need to answer these questions? Where can we find this information?" (Yes; pages 28-29 of One Well and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind)

  • Focus students on the Action box. Model looking back in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and using the sentence starter in the box to answer the question:

"What are some ways to solve it?"
Conversation Cue: "What in the text makes you think so?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Record notes in the Action box. Refer to the Research Note-catcher: Access to Water (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Encourage students to look back to pages 28-29 of One Well and Think-Pair-Share:

"What are some ways to solve it?"

  • As students share out, capture their responses in the Action box.
  • Repeat with the Call to Action box, first modeling with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and then using Think-Pair-Share to have students practice using pages 28-29 of One Well.
  • Focus students on the Sources box at the bottom.
  • Turn and Talk:
  • "What sources have we used today?" (pages 28-29 of One Well; The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind)
  • Add these sources to the Sources box.
  • For students who may need additional support with planning: During the guided practice, model thinking aloud to illuminate this process. Provide sufficient wait time for students to process and share their ideas. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Sentence Starters) Encourage students to use the sentence starters on the research note-catcher when sharing their thinking about the ways to solve the issue (Action) and why it is important to solve (Call to Action).
  • For ELLs: (Highlighting and Rephrasing Key Sentences) Consider highlighting key sentences on pages 28-29 of One Well that encapsulate the ideas in the Action and Call to Action sections of the research note-catcher. Invite students to identify which sentence best articulates each idea and then rephrase the sentence in their own words before adding their thinking to the note-catcher.

B. Independent Practice: Researching Solutions and Importance (15 minutes) 

  • Tell students they will now work in groups to research solutions and the importance of finding solutions for the other two issues related to water that they have been focusing on throughout this module: demand for water and water pollution.
  • Invite students to retrieve their Research Note-catcher: Demand for Water and Research Note-catcher: Water Pollution, their copy of One Well, and any other Units 1 and 2 texts used for research so far.
  • Tell students they will work in groups to add to the Action and Call to Action boxes for their issue. Then, they will meet in mixed groups to share their research.
  • Move students into pre-determined groups and assign each group an issue.
  • Invite students to begin. Circulate to support them as they work, reminding them to record ways to solve their issue related to water in the Action box, why it's important to solve the problem in the Call to Action box, and the texts they used in their research in the Sources box. Refer to the Research Note-catcher: Demand for Water (example, for teacher reference) and Research Note-catcher: Water Pollution (example, for teacher reference) as needed.
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Offer choice with the research note-catchers by providing a template that includes lines or additional space for each section. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Jigsaw Reading) Consider inviting each student in a group to be responsible for a different text and then report back to their group about what they learned about ways to solve their group's issue (Action) and why it's important to solve the issue (Call to Action)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Pair Share: Water Issues Research (15 minutes) 

  • Refocus whole group. Invite students to take their Demands on Water and Water Pollution research note-catchers and find a partner who researched a different issue related to water. Then, invite each partnership to find another partnership, forming groups of four with two students having researched demand for water and two having researched water pollution.
  • Post and review the following directions.

1. Greet your partners. Decide which pair will share first and label them Pair A.

2. Pairs A and B take out the research note-catcher that corresponds to Pair A's water issue (Demands on Water or Water Pollution).

3. Pair A reviews the information recorded in the Issue and Impact boxes on their research note-catcher.

4. Pair A shares the information recorded in the Action and Call to Action boxes on their research note-catcher.

5. Pair B records this information on the appropriate research note-catcher.

6. Pairs switch roles and repeat this process for Pair B's water issue. 

  • Answer clarifying questions.
  • Invite students to begin sharing.
  • Circulate to support students as they work. Refer to Research Note-catcher: Demand for Water (example, for teacher reference) and Research Note-catcher: Water Pollution (example, for teacher reference)as needed.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning target and how well they worked to contribute to a better world in this lesson
  • For students who may need additional support with strategy development: Invite students to use the chart and restate the steps for sharing. (MMAE, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Fishbowl: Sharing Research) Before inviting students to share their research, invite four confident students to Fishbowl each of the steps listed on the board. Provide time for students to ask questions and clarify the process as needed.

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from grades 2 or 4, or record an audio response.

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