Speaking and Listening: Launching the Performance Task and Unit Guiding Question | EL Education Curriculum

You are here

Home › Our Curriculum › ELA Grade 1 › ELA G1:M3 › ELA G1:M3:U3 ›

ELA G1:M3:U3:L1

Speaking and Listening: Launching the Performance Task and Unit Guiding Question

In this Lesson

You are here:

These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RI.1.5: Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.
  • RI.1.7: Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
  • W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.1.1c: Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.
  • SL.1.3: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
Download Materials

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify criteria for writing our Expert Bird Riddle cards. (W.1.8, SL.1.1c, SL.1.3)
  • I can use text features and illustrations to answer questions using the text Little Kids First Big Book of Birds. (RI.1.1, RI.1.5, RI.1.7)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During Work Time A, circulate to listen to student conversations to gather a baseline for speaking and listening skills to build in future lessons. (SL.1.1c, SL.1.3)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Riddle Discussion Protocol: Mystery Bird Riddle #1 (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Generating Criteria: Expert Bird Riddle Cards (25 minutes)

B. Exploring the Text: Little Kids First Big Book of Birds (20 minutes)

3. Closing

A. Engaging the Learner: Voting on Expert Birds (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • The Opening of this lesson follows a similar routine to the first lesson in previous units. Students are presented with a Mystery Riddle about a specific bird and will use evidence from the riddle and accompanying pictures to figure out the mystery bird. Students learn a new protocol called the Riddle Discussion protocol, which they will use in subsequent lesson Openings to read more Mystery Riddles.
  • Although the protocol is typically used with small groups, students are led through it today as a whole group. This whole group introduction supports students' thinking about how to draw evidence from a text and ask questions about what is written. This whole group instruction will support students in solving new and different Mystery Riddles with less teacher guidance in small groups in Lessons 2-5.
  • The Mystery Riddle cards act as models for students' Expert Bird Riddle cards created for the performance task later in the unit.
  • In Work Time A, students use the Mystery Riddle card to identify criteria for their own riddle card to be written. Students will be asked questions that will guide them to notice the important characteristics of the riddle. They will record their thoughts on a note sheet. The class's ideas will be shared out and collected on the Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart.
  • In Work Time B, students work with the research text for this unit, Little Kids First Big Book of Birds from National Geographic Kids. For engagement, students are led through a series of prompts to explore the book. This experience will also reinforce students' understanding of the importance of text features and photographs. Consider building in extra time to allow students to get excited with the book as they explore the many pages of bright photographs and activities.
  • In the Closing, students vote for the bird they would like to research further in this unit. Student choice is included here to give them a sense of ownership and responsibility for their learning. See Teaching Notes in Lesson 3 on creating the expert bird research groups.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • Students have read a Mystery Riddle card in the first lesson of each unit. The mystery card presented in this lesson continues that pattern while also providing a model for the students' performance task, Expert Bird Riddle cards. Students use the research and class notes finished in Unit 2 to figure out the bird in the Mystery Riddle.
  • In previous modules, students worked together to create class criteria. Students will use those experiences as well as the criteria from writing tasks in Units 1-2 to create a new list of criteria for the Expert Bird Riddle cards. Throughout the unit, students will engage in a variety of experiences (analyzing models, generating criteria, giving and receiving feedback, learning about and reflecting on perseverance) as they strive to create high-quality work, an important goal of this unit.
  • All of the birds included on the voting sheet are birds that students learned about in Unit 2 through the texts Feathers, Not Just for Flying and Beaks!

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • In the Opening, students may need additional support with figuring out the mystery bird. Remind students of the resources around the classroom that could help them use the evidence from the text to determine the mystery bird.
  • Questions have been created to help direct students to the aspects of the riddle that should be included as criteria. For additional support, remind students to look at what words are being used in the riddle that are familiar to them.
  • Students choose three birds in the Closing that they might like to research in future lessons. Students may find it difficult to number their choices, so consider having students circle or color in the birds they would prefer.

Down the road:

  • Students will participate in several rounds of the Riddle Discussion protocol with new Mystery Riddle cards for several lesson Openings throughout the unit. This routine will reinforce the criteria for the riddle that students will write as their performance task as well as build their speaking and listening skills.
  • After exploring the book Little Kids First Big Book of Birds in this lesson, students will split into expert bird research groups and research a specific bird. The research will be collected and discussed in a Science Talk for their Unit 3 Assessment. The information from their research will also be used in their Expert Bird Riddle card for the performance task.

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1, in color if possible.
    • Small group areas around the room with a copy of Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1 and Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording forms.
  • Pre-determine small groups of four students for Work Time A.
  • Pre-distribute Research Birds voting sheets and pencils to student workspaces for the Closing.
  • Review the Riddle Discussion protocol. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • 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 1.I.A.1, 1.I.B.6, 1.I.B.5, and 1.II.A.1

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by creating excitement for learning via a Mystery Riddle, opportunities to actively review text features, and through offering choice on what bird to research for students' performance task.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to listen to students choose three birds in the Closing to research as a team in future lessons (see "Levels of support" and the Meeting Students' Needs column).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Consider offering choice in terms of what group students will be presenting with and/or which order they will present in.

For heavier support:

  • Reread the resources that could help students vote on the bird they want to learn more about (Beaks: Class Notes, Feathers: Class Notes, and Birds Research notebook.)

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Some students may need additional support with visual perception. Continue to offer options for perception by displaying the text on a document camera or an enlarged copy of the text to help direct students to the appropriate sentences on each page as they follow along.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): In this lesson, individual students are asked to share ideas with the whole group. As students share out, provide options for expression and communication by offering and modeling sentence frames.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to support students in linking the information presented in the text back to the learning target to explicitly highlight the utility and relevance of the text to the learning target.

Vocabulary

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

New:

  • specific, expert (L)

Review:

  • criteria (L)

Materials

  • Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1 (one per group and one to display)
  • Riddle Discussion Protocol anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see supporting Materials)
  • Riddle Discussion Protocol anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Work Time A; see supporting Materials)
  • Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording form (one per group)
  • Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording form (example, for teacher reference)
  • Little Kids First Big Book of Birds (one per pair and one to display for teacher read-aloud)
  • Book Exploration Prompts (for teacher reference)
  • Research Birds voting sheet (one per student)
  • Beaks: Class Notes (begun in Unit 2, Lesson 6)
  • Feathers: Class Notes (begun in Unit 2, Lesson 3)
  • Pencils (one per student)

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. Riddle Discussion Protocol: Mystery Bird Riddle #1 (10 minutes)

  • Gather students whole group.
  • Announce that the class has received another mysterious riddle that they will have to work together to solve. Just like detectives, they have to listen closely for clues in the riddle to help them solve the mystery.
  • Tell students that at certain points during the reading, they will act out parts of the riddle with their bodies.
  • Display Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1.
    • Slowly reveal and read the first two sentences.
    • Invite students to stand up so they may act out the sentences ("Humongous wings with lots of feathers ...").
    • Repeat the process with the second two sentences.
  • Focus students on the picture clues at the bottom of the riddle card. Tell students that one of these pictures is an example of the bird from the riddle.
  • Tell students that before they take a guess, they are going to read it one more time using a new protocol--the Riddle Discussion protocol. This protocol will help them pull out important clues and ask questions about what they are hearing in the riddle.
  • Tell students that today they will practice with this protocol as a whole class, and tomorrow they will get a chance to use the protocol in a small group.
  • Point to the picture clues at the bottom of the riddle card and say: "While I introduce the Riddle Discussion protocol, continue to look at these pictures and try to figure out which bird this riddle is about."
  • Lead students through the Riddle Discussion protocol as a whole group, using the Riddle Discussion Protocol anchor chart. Refer to Riddle Discussion Protocol anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary:
    • Read the riddle aloud all the way through.
    • Invite a few volunteers to share things that they notice in the riddle. (Example: "I noticed the bird was a big bird because the riddle used the word humongous.")
    • Reread the riddle aloud all the way through.
    • Invite a few volunteers to share things that they wonder in the riddle. (Example: "I wonder if this bird can fly?")
    • Reread the riddle once more aloud.
  • Ask students to quietly put their thumb at their chest if they think they know the type of bird being described.
  • Tell students that on the count of three, they will do a microphone share; anyone can shout out his or her answer to the riddle.
  • Reveal to students that the heron is the mystery bird in the riddle.
  • Give students specific, positive feedback for their work on using clues and questions to figure out the answer to the riddle.
  • Tell students that tomorrow a new Mystery Riddle will be unveiled to them, and they will get a chance to work in a small group to use the Riddle Discussion protocol to help solve the riddle.
  • Tell students that throughout this unit they will learn how to construct their own riddle for their own expert bird that they will research.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with Vocabulary: (Defining Words) Invite students to explain the meaning of the words humongous and stabbing. Prompt students to recall any relevant prior knowledge. (Examples: Remind students that humongous was paired with big when they studied shades of meaning.) (MMR)
  • For ELLs: (Using Charts) When leading students through the Riddle Discussion Protocol anchor chart, consider clarifying the meaning of the word evidence. (Example: Evidence is proof or facts that show something is true. In this protocol, evidence is the clues you'll need in order to figure out what bird the riddle is about.)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with planning: (Using Charts) Remind students of the resources around the classroom that could help them use the evidence from the text to determine the mystery bird. (Examples: Verbs Shades of Meaning anchor chart and Beaks: Class Notes). (MMAE)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Generating Criteria: Expert Bird Riddle Cards (25 minutes)

  • Tell students they have spent a lot of time learning about birds, and there is a fun way to help other people learn about birds, too!
  • Say:

"You are going to make a fun game to help people learn more about birds' bodies! First, you'll need to choose a bird to research and find out more information about how that bird's special body parts help it survive. Then you get to take that information and write it on a card as a riddle. You will also draw a picture of the bird you study on a different card. People will have so much fun trying to match the facts about your bird to its picture!"

  • Tell students that as they do their research, they will try to answer a new but similar unit guiding question:
    • "How do specific birds use their body parts to survive?"
  • Define specific bird as a certain bird or one bird in particular.
  • Share with students that before starting their research, they will need to know what information to write in their riddle and how to write the riddle.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:

"I can identify criteria for writing our Expert Bird Riddle cards."

  • Remind students that criteria are things people use as a guide or a model.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What is an expert?" (someone who knows a lot about one thing)

  • Focus students' attention back on Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1 and invite them to help you read the riddle aloud once again.
  • Circle the words "What bird is this?" at the bottom of the card.
  • Say:

"I noticed a riddle asks the reader a question to figure out."

  • Direct students' attention to the Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart, and tell students that this chart will capture some of their thinking about what their Expert Bird Riddles should include.
    • Write "Asks a question" on the anchor chart.
    • Reread the riddle aloud again.
    • Circle the periods.
    • Say: "I noticed there are complete sentences that begin with a capital letter and end with a period."
    • Write "Complete sentences" on the anchor chart.
  • Tell students that they will now work in small groups to look closely at Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1 and will write down ideas about additional criteria that should be included on the Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart. Each group will create one list of ideas to share with the class.
  • Move students into the pre-determined groups and direct them to different areas of the room with pre-distributed copies of Mystery Bird Riddle Card #1 and a Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording form.
  • Once groups are settled, direct their attention to the first question on the Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording form and read it aloud.
    • "What information about the bird does the author include in the riddle?"
  • Invite students to discuss briefly.
  • Prompt students to select one student in their group to record the group's thinking on Question 1.
  • Repeat this process for Questions 2 and 3.
    • Focus students on the question and read it aloud.
    • Invite students to discuss with their group.
    • Invite students to select one group member to record their thinking.
  • Circulate to support students as they discussed. Refer to Riddle Criteria Brainstorm recording form (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Transition students back to whole group using the Bird Boogie routine from Unit 2.
  • Invite groups to present their answers to each of the questions, using their notes sheet, and add them to the Riddle Criteria Brainstorm anchor chart.
  • Tell students that you will now take their ideas on this brainstorm chart to create one final Expert Bird Riddle Criteria anchor chart that you will unveil in the next lesson.
  • Share with students that they will continue to use the criteria on this chart as they begin researching and writing their Expert Bird Riddle cards.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Display, Repeat, and Rephrase) Display, repeat, and invite students to rephrase the guiding question. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: (Clarifying the Guiding Question) Remind students that the previous guiding question was "How do birds use their body parts to survive?" and compare it to this unit's guiding question. Consider giving an example when defining the word specific.

B. Exploring the Text: Little Kids First Big Book of Birds (20 minutes)

  • Invite students to stand for a quick round of Bird Simon Says.
  • Direct students to the second learning target and read it aloud:

"I can use text features and illustrations to answer questions using the text Little Kids First Big Book of Birds."

  • Display Little Kids First Big Book of Birds. Tell students that they will use this book to begin their research to write their riddle cards.
  • Read the title and display the front cover.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What types of things do you think you will be able to learn from this book?" (Responses will vary.)

  • If productive, cue students to provide reasoning:

"Why do you think that?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Slowly flip through the pages. Say:

"You are going to have a chance to work with a partner to explore the pages of this book more closely. You will listen for a question and then look through the book to find the answer."

    • Tell students that as they begin exploring Little Kids First Big Book of Birds, they should search for and use text features such as illustrations, headings, captions, and labels to help them read each page.
    • Remind students to work together to read the text on the pages.
  • Move students into pairs and distribute copies of the book.
  • Lead students through the book exploration by reading aloud the Book Exploration Prompts and then pausing after each to provide a few minutes for students to explore the text with a partner.
  • After a few minutes, select volunteers to share out and then move on to the next prompt.
  • As time permits, allow 1-2 minutes of independent time to explore the book with partners to get excited for their future research.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support in making connections: (Summarizing the Target): Ask students to summarize and then to personalize the second learning target. Invite students to recall the text features studied in Unit 2. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with auditory processing: (Adding Visuals) Consider posting each book exploration prompt for students to reference as they explore the text. (MMR)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Learning: Voting on Expert Birds (5 minutes)

  • Say: "In order to write the riddle, we will all need to do some more research on one of the birds we have learned about. Each of you will get to vote on the bird you want to research the most."
  • Display the Research Birds voting sheet.
  • Read through each bird and remind students a bit about each by referring to them on the Beaks: Class Notes or Feathers: Class Notes.
  • Explain how to vote:
    • Write a "1" next to the bird you would most like to learn more about.
    • Write a "2" next to the second bird you'd like to learn more about.
    • Write a "3" next to the final bird you'd like to learn more about.
  • Think aloud to model how to vote for your top three choices.
    • "I notice that the voting sheet has six choices of birds to choose from. The choices are: woodpecker, wood duck, blue jay, penguin, hummingbird, and pelican. I have to choose my top three choices. My top three choices are: woodpecker, penguin, and pelican. I will put a '1' next to the woodpecker, a '2' next to the penguin, and a '3' next to the pelican. I want to make sure that I vote for only three birds. There will be three birds that I do not put a number next to."
  • Point out the Research Birds voting sheets and pencils already at student workspaces and invite the class to begin voting,
  • Refocus whole group and collect the voting sheets. Tell students they will all get to study one of their three choices soon!
  • Preview tomorrow's work: Begin expert bird research and identify the criteria for the Expert Bird Scientific Drawing cards that students will also create in the unit.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with auditory processing: (Adding Visuals) Consider posting the explanation of how to vote and ensuring that students understand the directions and can complete the Research Birds voting sheet. (MMR)

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up

Help us improve our curriculum.

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use. To learn more about EL Education, visit eleducation.org

Leave feedback