Online Research: Food for an Emergency Preparedness Kit | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G5:M4:U3:L1

Online Research: Food for an Emergency Preparedness Kit

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.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
  • RI.5.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
  • W.5.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
  • W.5.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
  • L.5.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • L.5.2a: Use punctuation to separate items in a series.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can research online using multiple sources to answer a question. (RI.5.1, RI.5.7, W.5.7, W.5.8, L.5.2a)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Student-designed research note-catcher and QuickWrite (RI.5.1, RI.5.7, W.5.7, W.5.8, L.5.2a)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Performance Task (10 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Target (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Online Research: Food for an Emergency Preparedness Kit (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Research Reading Share (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 Opening A, students review the performance task to provide purpose for the guided research they do in this lesson. They also review the Class World Cafe anchor charts from Unit 1 and add anything new they learned in Unit 2.
  • In Work Time A, students work in pairs to research online using at least three sources to identify food items to pack in an emergency preparedness kit. Students are not provided with links; instead, they search for themselves using a search engine to build research skills. They create their own research note-catcher to organize their notes to respond to the prompt: "What food should be included in an emergency preparedness kit for a natural disaster? Why? They then organize those notes in a QuickWrite, reviewing the use of commas in a list (RI.5.1, RI.5.7, W.5.7, W.5.8, L.5.2a).
  • 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 contribute to a better world as they apply their learning to help their school and community by educating them about preparing for natural disasters.
  • Recall that the research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to natural disasters. This kind of reading continues over the course of the unit.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In Unit 1, students learned about the causes and physical impact of natural disasters and created a PSA explaining how to stay safe during a natural disaster. In Unit 2, they learned about the impact of a natural disaster on humans through reading literary texts. In this unit, they consider how they can help others be prepared for natural disasters, beginning in this lesson with researching the food needed in an emergency preparedness kit.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may need additional support to use the internet to research and to read web pages. Suggested links have been provided in the source list on the teacher example (see supporting materials) to guide students who need additional support to find appropriate information. Consider placing students who will need additional support in a group for focused teacher guidance.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review students' research note-catchers and QuickWrite responses to identify common issues to use as whole group teaching points in the next lesson.

Down the road:

  • In the next lesson, students will research for the mid-unit assessment to answer a similar prompt to the one researched in this lesson.

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Pairs for research. Strategically pair students with someone from their expert group in Unit 1, with at least one strong reader in each pair. They remain in these pairs throughout the unit.
    • Technology for students to research online in pairs (see Technology and Multimedia).
    • Independent reading review. Consider using the Independent Reading: Sample Plans (see the Tools page).
  • Consider working with a technology teacher to show students how to effectively use search engines to search for key words and how to evaluate sources to determine which are most reliable. ?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.
  • Work Time A: Prepare technology for students to research online, one internet-ready device per pair, and a displayed device to model the research process for the entire group.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 5.I.B.6, 5.I.C.10

Important points in the lesson itself 

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by building on work begun in the previous units of this module; by providing students with a think-aloud of finding reliable internet sources before inviting students to do so on their own; and by inviting students to work in pairs as they research.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to keep pace with the linguistic and cognitive demands of distinguishing between reliable and unreliable internet sources for their research, determining the most relevant information to include on their note-catchers, and completing a QuickWrite during Work Time A. Consider working with a small group of students as they research and begin their QuickWrites (see levels of supportand the Meeting Students' Needs column).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • As students work on their QuickWrites during Work Time A, challenge them to practice using commas for varying purposes and to distinguish between the ways in which they use them. (Example: The comma after however is used to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence, and the commas in meat, vegetables, and fruit are used to separate items in a series.) Invite students to refer to the Introductory Elements handout from Module 3 and the Using Punctuation in a Series and Using Commas to Set Off Words and Phrases handouts from Unit 1 for support.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time A, consider providing a paragraph frame for students to use in their QuickWrite response to the research prompt. Example:
  • [Introduction to paragraph, stating that creating an emergency preparedness kit is important] __________________. [One example of food to include and why; cite source] _________________. [Another example of food to include and why; cite source] ________________. [A third example of food to include and why; cite source] __________________.
  • To support students with their research during Work Time A, consider creating a list of reliable websites for them to use. This will provide a starting point for students as they learn how to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources and will allow them to maximize their time with each website.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Similar to previous units, support comprehension in this lesson by activating prior knowledge. Consider a brief review of Unit 2 to highlight relevance and scaffold connections for students. Additionally, provide questions visually as well as verbally. For example, display questions on chart paper or the board during discussions.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Recall the importance of supporting self-monitoring and executive function skills. In this lesson, facilitate student management of information and resources by allowing them to identify unknown words and record them in their vocabulary log.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): As in previous units, sustained engagement and effort throughout this unit is essential for student achievement. Some students may need support to remember the goal of the work they are doing with the performance task.

Vocabulary

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

  • source, multiple, emergency preparedness kit (L)

Materials

  • Performance Task anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Class World Cafe anchor charts (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1; added to during Opening A; see supporting materials)
  • Class World Cafe anchor charts (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1; example, for teacher reference)
  • Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • QuickWrite: Emergency Preparedness Food (one per student and one to display)
  • Researchers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 3; added to during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • Paper (blank; one piece per student)
  • Using Punctuation in a Series (from Unit 1, Lesson 10; one per student)
  • Devices (one per pair; see Technology and Multimedia)
  • QuickWrite: Emergency Preparedness Food (example, for teacher reference)
  • 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 Performance Task (10 minutes) 

  • Move students into pre-determined pairs.
  • Direct students' attention to the Performance Task anchor chart. Remind them that they saw this anchor chart in Unit 1. Select volunteers to read the anchor chart aloud.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What are you going to be doing in this unit?" (preparing for the performance task: putting together a presentation about emergency preparedness to educate others)
"How will the work you have been doing previously in the module help you?" (Nowthat we know more about natural disasters and how they impact humans, we can help people be better prepared for them.)

  • Direct students' attention to the Class World Cafe anchor charts. Remind them that they first saw these charts in Unit 1, Lesson 1, when they participated in the World Cafe protocol. Focus students specifically on the chart with the question:
    • "How can natural disasters affect the people who experience them?"
  • Turn and Talk:

"What did you learn from Unit 2 to answer that question?"

  • Select volunteers to share out. As they share out, capture their responses on the anchor chart. (Examples: People can be trapped in buildings for days; people can lose friends and family; people can struggle to access basic resources like food and water; people can be scared.) Refer to the Class World Cafe anchor charts (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Focus students on the chart with the question:

"How can we prepare for a natural disaster?"

  • Tell them they will find out more about how to answer this question over the course of the unit.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart and invite them to consider which of the habits they think they will address by working toward this final performance task.
  • Focus students specifically on applying their learning to help their school and community by educating them about preparing for natural disasters.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with activating prior knowledge (Activating Prior Knowledge): Before students turn and talk about what they learned from Unit 2, display a chart of the Unit 2 learning targets to scaffold their recall. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Reinforcing Concepts) As students share how natural disasters affect the people who experience them, reinforce the concept of using commas to separate items in a series, taught in Unit 1. First chart student responses as a list and then, below the list, write the following sentence frame: Natural disasters affect the people who experience them by __________, _________, and _________. Invite students to complete the sentence frame with the responses they listed above

B. Reviewing Learning Target (5 minutes) 

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning target and select a volunteer to read it aloud:
    • "I can research online using multiple sources to answer a question."
  • Turn and Talk:

"What is a source?" (a place, person, or thing from which something comes, such as a website where you can find information)

  • Underline the word multiple. Invite students to use a vocabulary strategy on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to determine the meaning of the word (more than one).
  • Turn and Talk:

"In your own words, what do you think you will be doing today based on this target?"(researching on the internet, looking at more than one web page, to answer a question)
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Invite students to restate the learning target in their own words. (MMR).
  • For ELLs: (Practicing Key Word in Context) Invite students to practice using the word source in context by inviting them to discuss the sources they have used throughout this module to research natural disasters. Provide a sentence frame for support: (Example: The sources we have used to research natural disasters throughout this module are _________, ____________, and _________ [articles, videos, and websites].) Encourage students to explain the function of each of the items they listed (each item functions as a noun), reinforcing the use of commas to separate grammatically equivalent items in a series.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Online Research: Food for an Emergency Preparedness Kit (30 minutes) 

  • Distribute and display the QuickWrite: Emergency Preparedness Food and invite a volunteer to read aloud the prompt at the top for the whole group:
    • "What food should be included in an emergency preparedness kit for a natural disaster? Why?"
  • Underline the words emergency preparedness kit. Turn and Talk:

"What do you think an emergency preparedness kit might be?" (a kit for people to use in an emergency, like a natural disaster)

  • Tell students that things other than food should also be included in the kit, but they will research these items in the next lesson.
  • Invite students who have emergency preparedness kits at home to share the food kept in their kits. Record their responses on the board.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What kind of food do you think you might see in an emergency preparedness kit? Why?" (Responses will vary, but may include: canned food and dry food like crackers or granola, because those food items will last a long time.)
"What kind of food would you not expect to see in an emergency preparedness kit? Why?" (Responses will vary, but may include: meat and dairy products, because those items go bad quickly.)

  • Select volunteers to share out. As they do, capture their responses on the board in a two-column chart with the column headings "Would See" and "Would Not See."
  • Remind students of criteria on the Researchers Do These Things anchor chart.
  • Display an online search engine on a screen (e.g., Google).
  • Think-Pair-Share:

"What could we type in this search box to find the web pages we need to answer the question?" (emergency preparedness food)
Conversation Cue: "Why do you think that?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students that unnecessary words like the and and can be removed from a search box. To save time when searching, you need put in only the most important words.
  • Once you have refined the words in the search box, click "search."
  • Think aloud to help students evaluate what they are seeing in the search results to determine which pages to look at first. Example:
    • "I can see that the first five options are selling food for emergency preparedness kits. They are ads rather than informational websites. I know this because the information I can see in the search results is talking about brands, free shipping, and 20% off. I can also recognize famous store names, which tells me it is the store selling supplies for an emergency preparedness kit. If we click on one of these, we can see that it is selling things rather than giving information. The fifth option has a .gov web address. This tells me that this website is owned by the government, so it is likely to be reliable information. Let's click on the page and confirm that this is the case. Yes, we can see that this is an informational website. There are no prices or brands on this page."
  • Tell students that often people create blog posts or web pages that look reliable but do not contain reliable information. Encourage them to look for signs that the web page has been created by a reputable organization.
  • Add the following to the Researchers Do These Things anchor chart:
    • "Use only the key words to search in a search engine."
    • "Evaluate the search results to determine which web pages are selling things and which are providing information. Terms like 'free shipping' and '20% off' tell you they are selling things."
    • "Try to use reputable websites. Look for .org and .gov websites when possible."
  • Distribute paper and tell students that they are going to be responsible for drawing their own note-catcher to organize their notes to answer the question. Remind students that in their QuickWrite they will need to respond to the "what" and "why" of the question and cite their sources, so they should ensure that their note-catcher provides them with the opportunity to catch all of that information. Emphasize the note on the QuickWrite sheet that sometimes they may have to infer "why."
  • Tell students they are only to QuickWrite once they have researched using at least three websites.
  • Review the use of commas in a list with Using Punctuation in a Series and remind students that if they list items in their QuickWrite, they should use the comma appropriately.
  • Set up pairs on devices and invite students to begin.
  • Circulate to support students in researching and completing their QuickWrite. Refer to the QuickWrite: Emergency Preparedness Food (example, for teacher reference) as necessary. Ask questions to guide student thinking:
    • "Which words can you use to search efficiently?"
    • "Which web pages look like they will contain the information you need? Why?"
    • "Where on the web page does it say that?"
    • "Why do you think that is a good food for an emergency preparedness kit?"
    • "Where have you cited the source?"
  • Provide frequent time reminders. Students should be moving on to the QuickWrite at least ten minutes before the end of the allocated time. Look out for students who have designed effective note-catchers and have written good-quality QuickWrites and ask them if they would share their work with the whole group at the end of the time.
  • When 3 minutes remain, refocus whole group and select a student with a successful example of note-catcher to share it with the whole group. Project the note-catcher if possible or gather students around the work so that all can see. Turn and Talk:

"Why is this an effective note-catcher?" (It helps the student answer both parts of the question and provides a place to cite sources.)

  • Tell students that in the next lesson they will research online again for the mid-unit assessment, so they should consider what they have learned from looking at this effective note-catcher for when they design their own again in 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 learning target.
  • For students who may need additional support with organizing resources: Offer a note-catcher template to reduce anxiety and scaffold recording of research. (MMAE, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Practicing as a Class: Internet Research) Invite students to follow each step for finding reliable sources as a class before doing so in pairs. As each step is recorded on the Researchers Do These Things anchor chart, invite the class to participate in them together: first typing in key words, then evaluating the search results, and finally sharing one or two reputable websites that they found in their search. This will clarify the process and allow time for students to ask questions before embarking on their research in pairs.
  • For ELLs: (Modeling and Thinking Aloud: Creating a Note-catcher) Consider modeling and thinking aloud creating a note-catcher that will capture the information necessary for responding to the prompt. Additionally, consider modeling and thinking aloud completing one row of the note-catcher, supporting students' understanding of the process, as well as providing them with a concrete example of relevant information to include.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Research Reading Share (15 minutes) 

  • Focus students on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and remind them specifically of integrity. In the context of research reading homework, this means trying to do it each day, even when it is tough to do so, and if it isn't possible, being honest when recording the dates and pages read in their journals.
  • Refer to the Independent Reading: Sample Plans to guide students through a research reading review
  • 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)
  • For ELLs: (Sentence Frames) Consider displaying sentence frames that correspond with the varying research reading shares and inviting students to use the frames particular to this lesson's share

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. 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 written expression: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from Grades 4 or 6, or record an audio response. (MMAE)

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