Discovering Our Topic: American Revolution | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G4:M3:U1:L1

Discovering Our Topic: American Revolution

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.:
  • SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can infer the topic of this module from the resources. (RI.4.1)
  • I can ask questions about a new text. (RI.4.1, W.4.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • I Notice/I Wonder note-catcher (RI.4.1, W.4.8)
  • Questions on sticky notes

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Infer the Topic (15 minutes)

B. Introducing the Performance Task and the Module Guiding Questions (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Engaging the Reader: Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak (30 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Read and reflect on the guiding questions for the module. Talk about them with someone at home. How do the questions make you feel? Why? What do they make you think about? You can sketch or write your reflections.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students participate in the Infer the Topic protocol, using relevant resources to familiarize themselves with the module topic (RI.4.1, W.4.8, SL.4.1). Note that source 1 is a speculative source from the 19th century rather than a portrait of Crispus Attucks painted during his lifetime. Consider adding your own resources to those provided in the supporting Materials (see "In advance," below).
  • Recall that the Mini Language Dive format has changed to reflect a more student-centered approach (see the Unit 1 Overview).
  • Recall that the ELL supports within the Meeting Students' Needs column have changed. Each support is labeled and fully explained the first time it is used, then labeled and condensed in subsequent lessons (see the Module Overview).
  • In the Closing, students hear a read-aloud of the first half of Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak by Kay Winters, about an errand boy who delivers messages on the day of the Boston Tea Party. As students may know nothing about the Boston Tea Party or the American Revolution, they may not understand a lot of the words and phrases they hear. The purpose of this text is to encourage them to want to learn more about the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party to better understand this text. As they listen, they are encouraged to record questions on sticky notes, to be answered by reading informational texts over the course of the unit.
  • After listening to the first pages of the text, students have time to reflect. Monitor them and determine whether there are issues surfacing that need to be discussed in more detail as a whole group, in smaller groups, or independently. Be aware that students may be sensitive to the issue of children being whipped at school ("The Mistress of the Dame School") and to the Native American perspective ("The Basket Trader"). Use the informational text at the back of the book about these perspectives to discuss these issues using a common text.
  • Throughout this module, students will revisit the module guiding questions introduced in this lesson: "How did the American Revolution, and the events leading up to it, affect the people in the American colonies?" and "How does a person's perspective influence her or his opinion?" Students reflect on the module guiding questions at home with their families.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners and working to become ethical people by collaborating as they work in small groups and showing respect as they reflect on the first half of Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak.
  • This lesson is the first in a series of three that include built-out instruction for the use of Goal 4 Conversation Cues. Conversation Cues are questions teachers can ask students to promote productive and equitable conversation (adapted from Michaels, Sarah and O'Connor, Cathy. Talk Science Primer. Cambridge, MA: TERC, 2012. Based on Chapin, S., O'Connor, C., and Anderson, N. [2009]. Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn, Grades K-6. Second Edition. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications). Goal 4 Conversation Cues encourage students to think with other students to expand the conversation. Continue drawing on Goals 1-3 Conversation Cues, introduced in Modules 1-2, and add Goal 4 Conversation Cues throughout Modules 3-4 to more strategically promote productive and equitable conversation. See the Tools page for additional information on Conversation Cues. Consider providing students with a thinking journal or scrap paper. Examples of the Goal 4 Conversation Cues you will see in the remaining modules are (with expected responses):
    • To encourage students to compare ideas:
  • Teacher: "How is what _____said the same as/different from what _____ said? I'll give you time to think and write."

Student: "_____ said _____. That's different from what _____ said because _____."

    • To encourage students to agree or disagree and explain why:
  • Teacher: "Do you agree or disagree with what your classmate said? Why? I'll give you time to think and write."

Student: "I agree/disagree because _____."

    • To encourage students to add on to others' ideas:
  • Teacher: "Who can add on to what your classmate said? I'll give you time to think and write."

Student: "I think that _____."

    • To encourage students to explain others' ideas:
  • Teacher: "Who can explain why your classmate came up with that response? I'll give you time to think and write."

Student: "I think what she's saying is _____."

  • Note that Goal 4 Conversation Cues are not built into the Discussion Norms anchor chart, as these cues are best suited for teachers facilitating student conversations.

How it builds on previous work:

  • This module builds on the foundation established in EL Education Modules 1-2 for grade 4.
  • Students will continue to use their Vocabulary log from Module 1 to collect new Vocabulary in this module. As in Modules 1 and 2, students will add new academic Vocabulary to the front of the logbook and domain-specific Vocabulary to the back of the book. You may wish to have students prepare the back of their books for the new module with a new section marked with flags or tabs.
  • The Academic Word Wall will continue to be added to in this module. This is a permanent word wall that is added to across the year.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may need additional support recording their questions. Consider pairing students in heterogeneous pairs to support one another in writing questions.

Assessment guidance:

  • Listen to student responses as they are inferring the topic and ensure that all students know the topic by the end of the lesson.

Down the road:

  • In Lesson 2, independent reading is launched.
  • In Lesson 2, students will have time to share their reflections (if they choose) on the module guiding questions.
  • Students hear more of Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak and read a text introducing them to the historical context in the next lesson.

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Domain-Specific Word Wall for the American Revolution.
    • Infer the Topic resources, posting them around the room (see supporting Materials).
    • Additional Infer the Topic resources that are connected to the American Revolution topic (e.g., an American flag, photographs of people--perhaps students--celebrating the Fourth of July, patriotic music, etc.).
  • Strategically pair students for the duration of the lesson, with at least one strong reader in each pair.
  • Consider whether any students may be sensitive to the module guiding questions based on cultural background. Students reflect on the module guiding questions at home with their families to help them address any issues, and this will be discussed more in the next lesson.
  • Review the Infer the Topic protocol (see Classroom Protocols).
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1- 2 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 Standards 4.I.A.1, 4.I.B.5, 4.I.B.6

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by explicitly outlining conversation and check for understanding protocols and allowing ample time for students to discuss and ask questions while they build background knowledge and become familiar with the module topic.
  • ELLs may find the Infer the Topic resources challenging because of the volume of potentially unfamiliar new language included on the pictures, on the quote strips, and in the Declaration of Independence. Encourage students to focus on the pictures, the gist of each quote strip, and language that is familiar. ELLs may also find it challenging to follow what is happening in Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak with the amount of new language written in a less familiar way and within a context they may know little about. Assure students that they will revisit this book many times throughout the unit (see levels of support, below, and the Meeting Students' Needs column).

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 is the meaning of this sentence? Why do we think that?)

For heavier support:

  • For ELLs: Consider creating a chart with a picture of each colonist mentioned in Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak for students to refer to throughout the unit. Add information to this chart as students build knowledge about each colonist's role and perspective on the American Revolution. Putting consistent faces to ideas will provide a grounding anchor for students who might otherwise find the amount of new information overwhelming.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): This lesson provides opportunities for students to make inferences about the module. The concept of inferring may be unfamiliar to some. Provide varied representations to help students understand the meaning of infer (e.g., visuals that can be inferred or doing a think-aloud to demonstrate the cognitive process of making inferences). Additionally, provide images that correspond to the quotes from this module. This way, students have multiple resources to draw on to make predictions about the module.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): This lesson offers several opportunities for students to engage in discussion with partners. For those who may need additional support with expressive language, facilitate communication by providing sentence frames to help them organize their thoughts. This way, all students can benefit from peer interaction.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Since this is a unit about reading, students who needed additional support with reading in the past may lack engagement. Encourage students by reminding them that everyone has reading goals that they are working toward. Emphasize that all students will grow and improve in their reading throughout this unit.

Vocabulary

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

  • American Revolution, American colonies, perspective (L)
  • errand, printer, baker, mistress of the Dame School, shoemaker, milliner, basket trader, tavern keeper (T)

Materials

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Infer the Topic resources (for teacher reference)
  • Directions for Infer the Topic (one to display)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • I Notice/I Wonder note-catchers (one per student)
  • Performance Task anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see Teaching Notes)
  • Module Guiding Questions anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see Teaching Notes)
  • Academic Word Wall (begun in Module 1; added to during Work Time B)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Sticky notes (three per student)
  • Questions about Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak anchor chart (new; co-created with students during the Closing)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)

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.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Move students into pairs and invite them to label themselves A and B.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

"I can infer the topic of this module from the resources."

"I can ask questions about a new text."

  • Remind students that they have seen similar learning targets in Modules 1-2.
  • Underline and use the Vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to review and/or determine the meaning of the words.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension and engagement: (Working toward Same Learning Targets) Invite students to share one way they worked toward similar learning targets in Modules 1-2. (MMR, MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Infer the Topic (15 minutes)

  • Build up excitement for this module and unit by telling students that today they will begin learning about a new topic that they will study and write about over the next several weeks.
  • Focus students on the Infer the Topic resources posted around the room.
  • Tell students they will use the Infer the Topic protocol to make inferences about their new topic of study. Remind students that they used this protocol in Module 1 and review as necessary using the Directions for Infer the Topic. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Review the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart. Focus students on the word collaboration and what it looks like and sounds like in practice. Ask:

"How do you think collaboration will help us when we are working through this protocol?" (Responses will vary, but may include: We will be working with other students to share information, so we will need to collaborate to do this effectively.)

  • Distribute the I Notice/I Wonder note-catchers and guide students through the protocol. Recall the importance of letting students choose the resources they want to observe, as some may not be able to read independently and need the option of looking at a picture resource.
  • Refocus whole group.
  • Think-Pair-Share:

"Now that you have looked at some resources, what do you think this module might be about?" (Responses will vary.)

  • If productive, use a Goal 4 Conversation Cue to encourage students to agree or disagree and explain why:

"Do you agree or disagree with what your classmate said? Why? I'll give you time to think and write." (Responses will vary.)
  • For students who may need additional support with oral language and processing: Pair students with strategic partners to ensure that they have a strong, politely helpful partner to support their efforts in sharing their thinking and listening to their partner. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Modeling and Thinking Aloud: Inferring the Topic) Consider modeling and thinking aloud the protocol for inferring the topic, as well as recording information on the I Notice/I Wonder note-catcher. (Example: "In this picture, I notice that people are dressed differently than we dress today, so I will write, 'dressed differently than today' in the I Notice column of the note-catcher. I wonder if that means this is something that happened a long time ago, so I will write, 'a long time ago?' in the I Wonder column on my note-catcher.") Invite students to record this information on their own note-catcher as it is modeled, providing them with a concrete example for the type of information they will enter during the protocol.
  • For ELLs: (Noticing Complete Sentences) Invite students to explain why the notes in the note-catcher are not considered complete sentences. (They lack either a subject or a predicate.) Assure students that they will focus on this in future lessons.

B. Introducing the Performance Task and the Module Guiding Questions (10 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the Performance Task anchor chart and read the task aloud.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What do you notice?" (We will have a discussion in which we share our opinion about whether we would be a Loyalist or a Patriot in the American Revolution and why.)

"What do you wonder?" (Responses will vary, but may include: What are Loyalists and Patriots?)

"Now that you have analyzed the performance task, has your inference of what this module might be about changed?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Direct students' attention to the Module Guiding Questions anchor chart and read the questions aloud:
    • "How did the American Revolution, and the events leading up to it, affect the people in the American colonies?"
    • "How does a person's perspective influence her or his opinion?"
  • Tell students that these are the questions that will guide their thinking and learning throughout the module. Underline the terms American Revolution and American colonies. Emphasize that students may not know yet what the American Revolution is or what the American colonies were, but they will learn these things over the course of the unit.
  • Underline the word perspective and invite students to work with an elbow partner, using Vocabulary strategies listed on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, to determine the meaning of this word (a particular attitude toward or way of looking at something).
  • Add this to the Academic Word Wall and invite students to add it to their Vocabulary logs.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What do you notice?" (We will be learning about the American Revolution and different perspectives.)

"What do you wonder?" (Responses will vary, but may include: Why will we be learning about this?)

"Now that you have analyzed the guiding questions and performance task, has your inference of what this module might be about changed?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Clarify that this module will be about exploring the American Revolution through different perspectives.
  • Acknowledge that some students may already know something or have opinions about the American Revolution. Explain that for homework, they will reflect on the guiding questions and how they feel about them based on their own experiences, and that this will be discussed more at the beginning of the next lesson.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the first learning target.
  • As time permits, focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and invite them to self-assess how well they collaborated in this part of the lesson.
  • For students who may need additional support with sustaining effort: As students may be overwhelmed by the Performance Task anchor chart, assure them that you will continue to discuss the meaning of the chart in subsequent lessons and units. Consider displaying a model performance task from a former student. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Providing a Concrete Example: Discussing Perspectives) To ensure comprehension of the word perspective, provide a concrete example of a perspective someone might have on something (e.g., express a perspective on the importance of recess at school). (Example: "I believe recess is very important for students. What is your perspective on recess?") Invite students to discuss with a partner. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: (Calling on Others First) Before cold-calling students who need heavier support, call on two or three students with more advanced English language proficiency levels. This provides students who need heavier support with language to model, as well as giving them additional time to think and formulate their response.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Reader: Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak (30 minutes)

  • Display the cover of Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak and read the cover aloud, including the text at the bottom, "The outbreak of the Boston Tea Party told from multiple points of view."
  • Ask:

"What do you know about the Boston Tea Party?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Read aloud the blurb on the back of the book.
  • Turn and Talk:

"Now that you have heard a description of the book, what do you know about the Boston Tea Party?" (It might be something about a tax on tea by someone called King George.)

"Who is Ethan?" (an errand boy who goes out to deliver newspapers containing a notice)

"What is an errand boy? What is an errand?" (An errand is a short journey made to deliver or collect something or do a small job, so an errand boy is a boy who goes out delivering or collecting something or doing small jobs.)

  • Open the book to the page with the timeline.
  • Turn and Talk:

"Thinking about what you learned from the blurb and the title of the page, what do you think this page might be about?" (It is the route Ethan, the errand boy, took to deliver his newspapers.)

"What do you think each line of text means?" (a place/person the errand boy visited)

"What do you think the numbers represent?" (the time he visited each of the places/people)

  • Tell students that you are going to read the first half of the book aloud. Warn them that it may raise some questions, as there will be a lot of words and phrases that they may not have heard of before or understand.
  • Display and read aloud to the end of "The Tavern Keeper" page. After each page, stop and ask:

"What is a ___________ printer/baker/mistress of the Dame School/shoemaker/milliner/basket trader/tavern keeper? How do you know? What do the pictures tell you?"

  • Turn and Talk:

"What do you know so far? What has happened up to this point?" (Responses will vary, but may include: Ethan has visited the printer, the baker, the mistress of the Dame School, the shoemaker, the milliner, the basket trader, and the tavern keeper.)

  • Distribute sticky notes and invite students to note any questions they have on their sticky notes.
  • Consider reading this section of the book a second time if students need it.
  • Invite students to share their questions with the whole group. Once they have shared their questions, invite them to post their sticky notes on the Questions about Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak anchor chart.
  • Tell students that their questions will be answered over the course of the unit.
  • Invite students to spend 3 minutes reflecting silently. Reflection can include thinking or writing/drawing on paper. Students must be silent when they do this, though. Ask:

"What did the first part of the book make you think about? What did you enjoy/not enjoy? Why?"

  • Invite students to begin reflecting. Circulate to quietly view student reflections to be able to address concerns.
  • After 3 minutes, refocus whole group.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and focus them on the word respect. Review what it looks like and sounds like in practice. Ask:

"How do you think respect will help us when we are sharing reflections?" (Responses will vary, but may include that reflections may include opinions or connections to personal experiences that may be different from their own, so they need to be respectful.)

  • Tell students that they will now have the opportunity to share their reflections, if they would like to, with the whole group. Tell them that they need to be respectful as they listen to other students sharing. Explain that part of being respectful means treating others with care.
  • Invite volunteers to share their reflections with the whole group. Be prepared to discuss any issues students feel they need to discuss further. Use the informational text about each place/person in the back of the book as a common text for discussing any sensitive issues that arise, such as the Native American perspective.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the second learning target and to self-assess how well they did in showing respect.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Before reading, provide white boards and dry-erase markers as an option for students to record (in drawing or writing) their ideas. This helps scaffold active listening for key details. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Colonist Chart: Charting Responses) Record student responses for what they think each person does (Examples: printer/baker/ mistress of the Dame School) on a chart to post in the room throughout the module (see "For heavier support"). Include a sketch for each person, as well as important bullet points for each colonist. Invite students to refer to this chart as they share what happened up to this point and explain that it will be added to throughout the unit.
  • For ELLs: (Noticing Suffixes: Focusing on -er) Invite students to notice how the majority of titles on each page end with the suffix -er. Ask:

"What would happen if you took away the -er?" (The words would be print, bake, shoemake, basket trade.)

Point out that -er is added to change each of these words from a verb to a noun, signaling "a person or thing that does something." Invite students to use what they know about the verb form of each word to infer the meaning of each title.

  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. "Midnight/is the deadline/when the tea must go/or be taxed."
    • Deconstruct: Invite students to discuss the meaning of the sentence and grapple with the meaning of each chunk. Encourage extended conversation and practice with the focus structure in the highlighted chunk, keeping the following language goals in mind:
    • when: "When?"/Meaning: When refers to a time. When refers back to midnight, which is in a previous chunk. Suggested questions: "What does when refer to in this chunk? How do you know?" "What if we replace when with before? How does that change the meaning?" (relative adverb)
    • must go: "What will happen?"/Meaning: Something must go at midnight. Suggested questions: "What do you think must go means? What, in the sentence, makes you think so?" "What is another way to say this chunk?" (needs to go; has to be gone) (phrasal verb; collocation)
    • the tea: "What?"/Meaning: The tea is what must go at midnight. Suggested questions: "What is the translation of this word?" (te in Spanish; the in French) (noun phrase/subject)
  • Practice: _____is the time when ____must go.
    • Reconstruct: Reread the sentence. Ask:

"Now what do you think the sentence means?"

"How does your understanding of this sentence add to your understanding of the text?"

    • Practice: Consider inviting students to use the sentence to speak or write about their own work or lives. Suggestion: ____is the deadline when I must ____ or _____. Ask:

"What is another way to say this sentence?"

Homework

Homework
  • Read and reflect on the guiding questions for the module. Talk about them with someone at home. How do the questions make you feel? Why? What do they make you think about? You can sketch or write your reflections.

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