Close Read: “This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work” | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G5:M3:U2:L3

Close Read: “This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work”

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
  • RI.5.6: Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
  • RF.5.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • W.5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • SL.5.3: Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.
  • L.5.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can determine Jackie Robinson's point of view on the most important factor in his success in leading social change. (RI.5.6)
  • I can summarize the points Jackie Robinson makes. (SL.5.3)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (RI.5.1, RI.5.4, RI.5.6, L.5.4)
  • Describing Point of View handout (RI.5.1, RI.5.6)
  • Summary: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (SL.5.3)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (35 minutes)

B. Summarizing a Text: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Research Reading Share (10 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 Work Time A, students are guided in a close read of "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work." During this close read, students focus on describing Jackie Robinson's own point of view about factors that led to his success (RI.5.1, RI.5.4, RI.5.6, L.5.4). After the close read, students summarize the points Jackie made in the essay (SL.5.3).
  • In the Closing, students are guided through a research reading share to hold them accountable for their research reading homework. Consider using the Independent Reading: Sample Plans if you do not have your own independent reading review routines.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners, collaborating as they work in triads throughout the lesson. They also focus on working to become ethical people, showing integrity as they share their independent reading books.
  • Recall that the research reading students complete for homework helps build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to literary classics. This kind of reading continues over the course of the module.

How it builds on previous work:

  • Students listened to "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work," took notes as they listened, and discussed the main points Jackie Robinson made in this essay in Lessons 1-2. In this lesson, they read the text closely and summarize it.
  • Students read an excerpt from Promises to Keep and described Sharon Robinson's point of view about factors that led to Jackie Robinson's success.
  • Continue to use Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas where students may need additional support:

  • Students may need additional support recording their answers on their note-catchers. Consider sitting those students who will need additional support recording their answers in a group together for teacher support when necessary.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review student close reading note-catchers to ensure they understand the relationship between people and events leading to Jackie Robinson's success.
  • Consider using the Speaking and Listening Informal Assessment: Collaborative Discussion Checklist during students' triad work in Work Time B (see the Tools page).
  • Consider using the Reading: Foundational Skills Informal Assessment: Reading Fluency Checklist to gather phonics and word analysis data during students' research reading share in Closing and Assessment A (see the Tools page).

Down the road:

  • Students will work with a new video about Jackie Robinson in the next lesson with a focus on describing the creator's point of view. They will compare the points of view of these authors of these various texts in Lesson 5. They will repeat this routine with new texts as part of the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment in Lesson 6.

In Advance

  • Strategically group students into triads for the work in this lesson, with at least one strong reader per triad.
  • Prepare technology necessary for students to read "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work".
  • Preview Close Reading Guide: Promises to Keep: Pages 38-41 (for teacher reference) and Close Reading: Promises to Keep: Pages 38-41 note-catcher (example, for teacher reference) to familiarize yourself with the excerpts of text and the questions students will be responding to during the close read.
  • Prepare a research reading share using the Independent Reading: Sample Plans or your own independent reading routine (see the Tools page).
  • 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.
  • Work Time A: Prepare technology necessary for students to read "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (one device per student).
    • Robinson, Jackie. "Free Minds and Hearts at Work" This I Believe, 1952. NPR. Web. Accessed on 16 Sept. 2016.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 5.I.B.5, 5.I.B.6, 5.I.B.7, and 5.I.B.8

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Jackie Robinson's point of view by participating in a close read of the essay "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work." In addition, students write summaries of the essay using the same structure as the summaries they wrote in Unit 1.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to write a summary of Jackie Robinson's point of view in the amount of time allotted. Encourage students to refer to their note-catchers and allow them to discuss and rehearse their summaries with a partner before writing (see "Levels of support" and Meeting Students' Needs).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During the Mini Language Dive, challenge students to generate questions about the sentence before asking the prepared questions.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time B, consider providing an outline for students to organize their summary and make connections between the information on the note-catchers and information they need to include in their summaries. Example:

[Introduction] __________. [Point] _______________. [Evidence] ____________. [Evidence] __________. [Evidence] ____________. [Concluding statement] ______________.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students interact with "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work." For students overwhelmed by too much print on a page, offer a copy of the text with smaller sections on a page. Additionally, consider offering enlarged font on the copy for students who may benefit from this option for perception.
  • 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 need it 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 with "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" to support students in understanding the value and relevance of the activities in this lesson. Continue to provide prompts and sentences frames for those students who require them.

Vocabulary

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

  • point of view (L)
  • imperfection, probability, prejudices, progress, sustained, free society, nothing static, Middle Ages logic (T)

Materials

  • Vocabulary charts (from Lesson 2)
  • Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (one per student and one to display)
  • Device (at least one per pair)
  • "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (one per student and one to display; see Technology and Multimedia)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Affix lists (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Describing Point of View handout (from Lesson 1; one per student and one to display)
  • Describing Point of View handout (example, for teacher reference)
  • Close Reading Guide: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (for teacher reference)
  • Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference)
  • Listening Closely: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (from Lesson 2; one per student)
  • Listening Closely: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference; from Lesson 2)
  • Paper (lined; one piece per student)
  • Criteria for an Effective Summary anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Summary: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (example, for teacher reference)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Independent Reading: Sample Plans (for teacher reference; see the Tools page)

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. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

"I can determine Jackie Robinson's point of view on the most important factor in his success in leading social change."

"I can summarize the points Jackie Robinson makes."

  • Remind students that in this unit they are reading texts and thinking about the point of view of authors, and that in Lesson 1 they read an excerpt from Promises to Keep and described the point of view of Sharon Robinson.
  • Underline the words point of view and ask:

"What do we mean by point of view?" (Point of view in informational texts is the perspective of the author on the topic. It is the way he or she helps the reader understand what the author thinks about the topic.)

"How did we determine Sharon Robinson's point of view on which factors were important in Jackie's success?" (We identified which factors Sharon Robinson explained and found evidence of this in the excerpt of Promises to Keep.)

  • Tell students that today, they are going to continue working with Jackie Robinson's essay, "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work," thinking about point of view. Remind students that they listened to his essay and worked with unfamiliar words from it in Lesson 2.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Who is the author of this essay? Whose point of view are we describing?" (Jackie Robinson; Jackie Robinson's)

  • Use the Vocabulary charts to review the following Vocabulary words: imperfections, probability, prejudices, progress, sustained.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension and engagement: Invite students to share one way they worked toward similar learning targets in Lesson 1. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Describing Point of View handout: Using Sentence Starters) Invite students to turn to an elbow partner and use the sentence starters on the Describing Point of View handout (see Lesson 1, For heavier support) to describe Sharon Robinson's point of view about the most important factor in Jackie's success.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (35 minutes)

  • Distribute and display the Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher.
  • Ensure students have a device so they can access the text themselves. Invite students to access "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work."
  • Remind students that digging into the text deeper can help them understand it better, so they are going to dig deeper into the text in this lesson.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and remind them what collaboration looks and sounds like, since they will be working in triads.
  • Ensure students have their affix lists and their Describing Point of View handouts, and that the Vocabulary charts are displayed.
  • Use the Close Reading Guide: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" to guide students through a close read of this text. Refer to Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • For students who are overwhelmed by too much print on a page: Consider copying the text so that there is only one paragraph on each page, with an organized space for recording the gist and meanings of the unfamiliar words on that page. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Mini Language Dive) "But / it would have been impossible for me / to fight at all, / except that I was sustained by the personal and deep-rooted belief / that my fight had a chance."
    • Deconstruct: Discuss the sentence and each chunk. Language goals for focus structure:
      • except that is used to signal that we will find out that there is an exception to what was said in the previous chunks. Students can discuss other ways to say this sentence that would signal this exception. (conjunction)
      • I: "Who?" / Meaning: I is how the speaker, Jackie Robinson, refers to himself. (pronoun)
      • was sustained: "Was what?" / Meaning: Jackie Robinson was sustained, which means he was supported or encouraged. (past tense passive verb)
      • by the personal and deep-rooted belief: "By what?" / Meaning: Jackie was sustained by his belief, which means a feeling that something is true. That belief was personal, or specific to him, and deep-rooted, which means strong and firm. Students can discuss why the author wrote the words in this phrase in this particular order. (prepositional phrase = preposition + article + adjective + conjunction + adjective + noun)
    • Practice: "I was sustained by _____." Ask:

"What if we changed was sustained to will be sustained?"

    • 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 Jackie Robinson's point of view?"

    • Practice: "It would have been impossible for me to _____ except that _____." Ask:

"Why do you think Jackie Robinson thought that his fight had a chance?"

  • For ELLs: (Describing Point of View Chart: Using Sentence Starters) Invite students to turn to an elbow partner and use the sentence starters on the Describing Point of View chart to describe Jackie Robinson's point of view about the most important factor in his success.

B. Summarizing a Text: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (10 minutes)

  • Tell students that now that they have analyzed "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work," they can summarize the essay. Remind them that they practiced writing summaries of Promises to Keep throughout Unit 1.
  • Invite students to retrieve their Listening Closely: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher.
  • Turn and Talk, referring to Listening Closely: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher (example, for teacher reference) to clarify student responses:

"What are the main points of this essay?"

"What are the key details supporting the main points?"

  • Tell students that, like the summaries of Promises to Keep they wrote in Unit 1, they should explain the main points of this essay in their summaries.
  • Distribute paper and invite students to write a summary of "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work."
  • Circulate to support students as they write and refer them to the following resources as needed:
    • Listening Closely: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher
    • Close Reading: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" note-catcher
    • Criteria for an Effective Summary anchor chart
  • Refer to Summary: "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Select volunteers to share their summaries.
  • If productive, cue students to agree, disagree, and explain why:

"Do you agree or disagree with the main points your classmate chose to write in the summary? Why? I'll give you time to think and write." (Responses will vary.)

  • 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.
  • For students who may need additional support in planning for verbal expression: Before sharing with partners, invite students to use two highlighters to indicate their main points and key details. (Example: Provide a yellow highlighter for main points and a pink highlighter for key details.)
  • For ELLs: ("Summarizing a Section" Chart: Referencing) Direct students' attention to the "Summarizing a Section" chart from Unit 1 (see Unit 1, Lesson 3, For heavier support). Point out that just as they included key details to support the main idea in their Unit 1 summaries, the summaries they write today will include examples of evidence to support the main point(s). Explain that the structure of the summaries will be the same as those in Unit 1. Encourage students to vary the linking words and phrases they use and remind them to use correct verb tense.
  • For ELLs: (Shared Writing: Summary) Consider working with a group of students to complete the summary as a shared or interactive writing experience. Display the completed summary as a model for students to refer to when writing summaries in upcoming lessons.
  • For ELLs: (Verb Tense: Identifying Examples) Invite students to identify a verb in a sentence from their summaries and explain the meaning the verb tense conveys. As students share, provide any needed clarification and add the examples to the Verb Tenses anchor chart begun in Unit 1, Lesson 2.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Research Reading Share (10 minutes)

  • Focus students on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and remind them specifically of integrity. In the context of research reading at home, this means trying to do it each day, even when it is hard to do so, and if it isn't possible, being honest when recording the dates and pages read in your journal.
  • Refer to the Independent Reading: Sample Plans to guide students through a research reading share or use your own routine.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess how well they collaborated and showed integrity in this lesson.
  • For students who may need additional support with organizing their thinking for verbal expression: Consider meeting with them in advance to prep them for the research reading share and minimize the threat associated with sharing. (MMAE, MME)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs
  • Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally with a partner, a family member, or a student from Grades 4 or 6, or record an audio response.  (MMAE)

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