Reading, Speaking, and Listening: Focused Read-aloud: Mama Miti, Pages 21–30 | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA GK:M4:U2:L8

Reading, Speaking, and Listening: Focused Read-aloud: Mama Miti, Pages 21–30

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RI.K.2: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • RI.K.4: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
  • RI.K.9: With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
  • W.K.1: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).
  • W.K.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.K.1a: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
  • SL.K.4: Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
  • SL.K.6: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
  • L.K.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • L.K.2a: Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
  • L.K.2b: Recognize and name end punctuation.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify the similarities and differences between the texts A Tree Is Nice and Mama Miti. (RI.K.9, SL.K.1a, SL.K.4, SL.K.6)
  • I can use pictures and words to state an opinion about where to plant trees and provide a reason to support it. (W.K.1, W.K.8, L.K.2a, L.K.2b)
  • I can describe and paint a place where trees are planted. (SL.K.4)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During the focused read-aloud in Work Time A and the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol in Work Time B, use the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress toward RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, and RI.K.9 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • Collect students' Opinion Writing response sheets and use the Opinion Writing Checklist to track students' progress toward W.K.1, W.K.8, L.K.2a, and L.K.2b (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Learner: Preposition Movement Routine (5 minutes)

2. Work Time 

A. Focused Read-aloud: Mama Miti, Pages 21-30 (15 minutes)

B. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol: Comparing Mama Miti to A Tree Is Nice (10 minutes)

C. Scaffolded Writing: Reviewing the Planner and Writing an Opinion (25 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment  

A. Pinky Partners Protocol: Sharing Our Writing an Opinion Response Sheet (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • This is the third lesson in a series of three in which students participate in a focused read-aloud of Mama Miti. Student continue to work to understand the main topic that Wangari helped her community by sharing what she knew about trees.
  • Mama Miti contains many complex ideas and complex vocabulary. The Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol in Work Time B promotes comprehension by inviting students to compare the complex ideas of Mama Miti to the more simplistic ideas from A Tree Is Nice. 
  • In Work Time C and the Closing, students practice formulating an opinion statement and reading it to a partner as practice before independently planning an opinion in Lesson 9, and independently writing an opinion statement for the Unit 2 Assessment, Part II in Lesson 10.
  • Recall that the instruction of opinion writing asks students to go above and beyond the standard (W.K.1) by asking students to not only compose an opinion piece that states an opinion about a topic, but also to provide a reason to support that opinion.

How this lesson builds on previous work: 

  • Students continue to add ideas to the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart during the focused read-aloud.
  • Work Times A and B contain familiar routines from Lesson 7. Students use their Opinion Writing planners from Lesson 7 to write an opinion statement. This intentionally builds students' comfort and independence in formulating opinions.

Areas in which students may need additional support: 

  • This is the first time students practice writing a complete opinion statement supported by a reason. The instruction asks students to go above and beyond the kindergarten standard, so consider using only the first part of students' writing (the opinion statement without the reason) to assess students' progress toward W.K.1.

Down the road: 

  • In Lesson 9, students will use the ideas from the Places People Plant Trees anchor chart and the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart to plan an opinion statement. 
  • In Lesson 10, students will write their opinion statement for Part II of the Unit 2 Assessment.

In Advance

  • Prepare clipboards with Writing an Opinion response sheets attached for Work Time C.
  • Determine pair students for the Preposition Movement Routine in the Opening.
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson materials.

  • 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 by in part by CA ELD Standards K.1.A.3, K.1.B.5, and K.2.C.6

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to deepen their content knowledge and reinforce academic language through comparing and contrasting A Tree Is Nice and Mama Miti. 
  • ELLs may find it challenging to comprehend some of the phrases in Mama Miti. As you read, continue to use gestures, text-based questions, and the illustrations to facilitate and check for student understanding.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During Work Time A, remind students how to ask questions when they don't understand. Model pausing and reconsidering a phrase that may be confusing. 
  • During Work Time B, encourage students to support other students if they have challenges with their writing.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time A, refer to the interactive storyboard of Mama Miti to help retell the story before you read. Then add to the storyboard as you read. Ask students to paraphrase what happened on each page by using the illustrations as guides.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students compare and contrast Mama Miti with A Tree Is Nice. Students will need strong flexible thinking and metacognitive skills as they develop this knowledge. Provide scaffolds to support diverse abilities in using these skills, such as explicit highlighting of information in the text to guide students in new understandings.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support students as they set appropriate goals based on their level and the level of difficulty expected. 
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): When students share with a partner, foster community and support students to provide each other with positive feedback. Before students share their thinking with classmates, discuss strategies for how to give a compliment or ask questions for further understanding.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

New:

  • filter (T)

Review:

  • contribute, community, opinion, reason (L)

Materials

  • Mama Miti (from Lesson 6; one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Reading Informational Text Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Marker (blue; used by the teacher to record ideas on sentence strips)
  • Sentence strips (one; added to the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart)
  • Tape (one piece; used by the teacher to adhere sentence strips to Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart)
  • Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart (begun in Lesson 3; added to during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart (begun in Lesson 3; example, for teacher reference)
  • Module 4 Guiding Question anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
  • Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol anchor chart (begun in Module 2)
  • Speaking and Listening Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Opinion Writing planner (completed in Lesson 7; one per student and one for teacher modeling)
  • Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree" (from Lesson 7; one to display)
  • Writing an Opinion response sheet (one per student and one for teacher modeling)
  • Writing an Opinion response sheet (example, for teacher reference)
  • Places People Plant Trees anchor chart (begun in Lesson 5)
  • Clipboards (one per student)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Pinky Partners Protocol anchor chart (begun in Module 3)
  • Opinion Writing Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. 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 Learner: Preposition Movement Routine (5 minutes)

  • Gather students whole group.  
  • Remind students of the Preposition Movement Routine they learned in Lesson 3. Tell them that they will do it again with a different animal in order to continue practicing their prepositions!
  • Review the definition of preposition (a word that specifies the position of a person, place, or thing).
  • Post and review the routine as needed:
    1. Move to sit with your pre-determined partner. 
    2. Designate one partner to be the tree and the other partner to be an animal. 
    3. The tree partner makes his or her body look like a tree, and the animal partner moves around the tree to follow the directions that the teacher gives. 
    4. Identify the preposition, or the word that told the animal what position to be in. 
    5. Switch roles and repeat.
  • Tell students that today the animal partner is a bird. 
  • Lead students through the Preposition Movement Routine as time allows, using the following prompts:
    • "The bird is hopping on a branch."
    • "The bird is walking around the tree trunk."
    • "The bird is flying over the branches." 
    • "The bird is resting beneath the leaves." 
    • "The bird is eating seeds below the tree."
  • For ELLs: (Expanding Complete Sentences) Invite students to expand the prompts by adding the word because and a reason. (Example: "Why do you think the bird is behind the trunk?" "I think the bird is behind the tree trunk because it is hiding from a cat.") 
  • For students who may need additional support with physical movement: Invite students to sketch a picture for each prompt. (MMAE)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Focused Read-aloud: Mama Miti, Pages 21-30 (15 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Provide specific, positive feedback for students' ability to learn and engage in the Preposition Movement Routine.
  • Display Mama Miti and read the title and the author's and illustrator's names aloud.
  • Remind students that this is a true story about a woman named Wangari who encouraged others to plant trees to help her community.
  • Remind students that they will focus on a few sections of Mama Miti to understand the reasons that Wangari told people in her community to plant trees.
  • Tell students that after focusing on a few sections of Mama Miti, they will be able to compare the information and ideas they get from Mama Miti to the information and ideas they got from A Tree Is Nice, just like they did in the previous lesson.
  • Throughout the focused read-aloud, consider using the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress toward RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, and RI.K.9.
  • Read aloud pages 21-24.
  • Follow the same routine from Work Time A of Lesson 2 to check for understanding. (She encouraged people in her community to plant trees to clean the stream so they could drink water from it.)
    • Tell students that the tree Wangari gives to the people filters the water. Define filter (a device that removes dirt from water, so the tree removes dirt from the stream).
    • Use the same routine from Work Time A of Lesson 3 to use a marker to add the reason to a sentence strip and tape it to the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart. Refer to the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Repeat this process with pages 25-30, using the following prompt:
  • "What did Wangari teach her community and the world about trees?" (that trees are very helpful and everyone can plant a tree)
  • Direct students' attention to the Module 4 Guiding Question anchor chart and read the question aloud:
    • "How are trees important to us and our community?"
  • Turn and Talk:

"How and why were trees important to Wangari and her community?" (Trees provide shelter, safety, food, clean water, and beauty.)

"How and why are trees important to us and our community?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students that next they will act out some of the reasons to plant a tree that were described in this part of Mama Miti.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Preview Pictures) Preview the pictures in pages 21-30 of Mama Miti to build vocabulary and prompt students to think about the who/what and what they are doing (subject and action) as they describe the pictures. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: (Text Engagement: Call and Response) After each instance of the text saying Thayu Nyumba, encourage students to repeat back, "Peace, my people" so that they are completing as well as repeating the text. 
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Before each Turn and Talk, ask students to restate the question in their own words. (MMR, MME)

B. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol: Comparing Mama Miti to A Tree Is Nice (10 minutes)

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

"I can identify the similarities and differences between the texts A Tree Is Nice and Mama Miti."

  • Tell students that although both A Tree Is Nice and Mama Miti provide ideas about why someone might plant trees, there are many similarities and differences between the two texts.
  • As needed, remind students that similarities means things that are the same and differences means things that are different, or not the same.
  • Tell students they are now going to use the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol to discuss the similarities and differences of Mama Miti and A Tree Is Nice. Remind them that they used this protocol in the previous lesson, and review as necessary using the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol anchor chart. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Guide students through two rounds of the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol with the same partner using the following prompts:

"What are one or two similarities between the texts Mama Miti and A Tree Is Nice?" (Responses will vary, but may include: Both of the texts say that people should plant trees because trees provide food; both of the texts have pictures of trees; both of the texts give reasons that people plant trees.)

"What are one or two differences between Mama Miti and A Tree Is Nice?" (Responses will vary, but may include: They are written by different authors; the illustrations are in different styles; they give different reasons for planting trees.)

  • Circulate and listen in as students discuss. Consider using the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress toward RI.K.9 and the Speaking and Listening Checklist to track students' progress toward SL.K.1a, SL.K.4, and SL.K.6.
  • For students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for verbal expression: Before the protocol, provide an opportunity for students to write one similarity and one difference on an index card for use in partner discussions. (MMAE)

C. Scaffolded Writing: Reviewing the Planner and Writing an Opinion (25 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Remind students that in the previous lesson they learned how to formulate an opinion statement and began planning an opinion about where to plant a tree and why.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second aloud:

"I can use pictures and words to state an opinion about where to plant trees and provide a reason to support it."

  • Tell students that today they will use their Opinion Writing planners to write an opinion statement about where to plant a tree and why.
  • Display the Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree" and remind students that an opinion has three parts: 
    • The opinion
    • The word because
    • The reason
  • Display the Opinion Writing planner you completed in Lesson 7 and read aloud the place and reason.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"On this planner, what is the opinion?" (the place to plant a tree)

"On this planner, what is the reason?" (why you should plant it there)

"What part of an opinion is missing?" (the word because)

  • Confirm students' thinking by telling them that in order to turn their planners into opinion statements, they need to create a sentence that has all three parts: the opinion, the word because, and the reason.
  • Display and model completing the Writing an Opinion response sheet using the following shared writing routine:
    • Direct students' attention back to the Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree" and the red underlined opinion. Tell students that first you will write the opinion, or where you think a tree should be planted.
    • Reread the "place" section on the completed Opinion Writing planner and using a total participation technique, ask:

"How can we say the opinion in a complete thought?" (I would plant a tree in a field.)

    • Write the opinion on the Writing an Opinion response sheet. Refer to the Writing an Opinion response sheet (example, for teacher reference) throughout the process.
    • Direct students' attention back to the Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree" and the circled word because. Remind them that because connects the opinion to the reason.
    • Write the word because on the Writing an Opinion response sheet.
    • Direct students' attention back to the Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree" and the blue underlined reason. Tell them that now you will write the reason, or why the tree should be planted there.
    • Reread the "reason" section on the completed Opinion Writing planner and using a total participation technique, ask:
    • "How can we say the reason in a complete thought?" (I would plant a tree in a field because trees provide shade.)
    • Write the reason after because on the Writing an Opinion response sheet.
    • Invite students to read the completed opinion statement with you: "I would plant a tree in a field because trees provide shade."
  • Tell students that now they will write their own opinion statement using any of the remaining ideas from the Places People Plant Trees anchor chart. Remind them that they should select a reason from the Reasons to Plant a Tree anchor chart that matches their opinion.
  • Distribute clipboards and pencils.
  • Invite students to begin writing.
  • Circulate and support students as they write their opinion statement by referring back to their Opinion Writing planners and the parts of the Opinion Model: "Where I Would Plant a Tree."
  • After 10 minutes, signal to students to finish up their writing.
  • Provide specific, positive feedback on students' ability to formulate an opinion statement and tell them that next, they will share their opinion statements with a partner.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing fluency: (Students Color-Coding) To ensure that students include an opinion and a reason, invite them to use the same color-coding you introduced to code their planners: red for the opinion and blue for the reason. (MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Pinky Partners Protocol: Sharing Our Writing an Opinion Response Sheet (5 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group and ensure students have their Writing an Opinion response sheets.
  • Tell students they are going to use the Pinky Partners protocol to share their Writing an Opinion response sheet. Remind them that they used this protocol in the previous lesson, and review as necessary using the Pinky Partners Protocol anchor chart. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Invite students to take their response sheets and begin the protocol.
  • Refocus whole group and offer specific, positive feedback about students' abilities to state and opinion and support that opinion with a reason.
  • Collect students' response sheets and use the Opinion Writing Checklist to track progress toward W.K.1, W.K.8, L.K.2a, and L.K.2b.
  • Tell students that they will continue to practice forming opinions as they prepare for the Unit 2 Assessment.
  • For ELLs (Partner Share-Out) Invite students to share their partner's opinion and reason.

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