Create a Podcast: Continue Research | EL Education Curriculum

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RI.7.1, RI.7.3, W.7.7, W.7.8

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RI.7.2

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can research to answer questions about epidemics. (RI.7.1, W.7.7, W.7.8)
  • I can analyze how individuals, ideas, and events influenced one another during an epidemic. (RI.7.3)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 (RI.7.3)
  • Work Time A: Epidemic Research note-catcher (RI.7.1, W.7.7, W.7.8)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - RI.7.3 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Research - W.7.7, W.7.8 (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Research Synthesis - RI.7.3 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Synthesize Epidemic Research and Refine Questions: Students use Homework: Synthesize Research and Refine Questions from Lesson 3 homework to continue to reflect on the individuals, events, and ideas emerging about their epidemic. Then they refine their research questions as necessary.

B. Analyze Interactions of Individuals, Events, and Ideas: In preparation for the mid-unit assessment, students review their responses to their previous homeworks analyzing the model podcast script and complete Homework: Analyze Interactions: Model Podcast Script, Part III to answer constructed response questions about how the individuals, events, and ideas interact in the script.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RI.7.3 – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students recall how to analyze the interactions among individuals, events, and ideas. 
  • W.7.7 – Work Time A: Students review any necessary research skills such as refining their research questions, finding and evaluating sources, and gathering information by quoting or paraphrasing accurately and citing their sources.
  • W.7.8 – Work Time A: Students research to answer their questions about epidemics, including refining their research questions, finding and evaluating sources, and gathering information by quoting or paraphrasing accurately and citing their sources.
  • RI.7.3 – Closing and Assessment A: Students work in their research triads to analyze the interactions among individuals, events, and ideas in a text.
  • In this lesson, students practice the habits of character of integrity and responsibility as they work independently to do online research.
  • The Think-Write-Pair-Share and Thumb-O-Meter protocols are used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Students who have experience with any of the research steps should be authorized as experts on those steps and allowed to teach or mentor the class or individual students on the steps.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In Lesson 2, students learned or reviewed the steps for researching to answer a question and began researching. As they were researching, common issues were identified. The needs identified inform the choice of research mini-lessons in this lesson.

Support All Students

  • Note there is a differentiated version of Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 used in Opening A in the supporting materials download. ▲
  • In Work Time A, students may need additional support with each of the steps of the research process. Provide sentence frames and modeling to support students with refining research questions. Partner students with a student who is skilled at researching and note-taking for modeling and support. If several students need support, create a strategy group, and teach one or more of the Research Mini-Lessons. ▲
  • Also, support students at varied reading levels by recommending databases for different reading levels (e.g., Newsela or Gale). ▲
  • Continue to monitor students to determine if there are issues surfacing as a result of the content of this lesson that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually.

Assessment Guidance

  • Circulate to monitor students’ ability to refine their questions, evaluate sources, identify important information, and take notes (including quoting, paraphrasing, and citing sources).

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will complete their mid-unit assessments, demonstrating their skills both in research and analyzing the interactions of individuals, events, and ideas.

In Advance

  • Based on the common errors identified in the previous lesson, identify mini-lessons to facilitate during Work Time A. This may be whole group or a small group, depending on the need.
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 at each student's workspace.
  • Gather devices on which students can conduct research (computers or tablets). Ensure the devices work, are charged, and can access the internet.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time B: computers or tablets for each student to continue the research process

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.B.5, and 7.I.B.6.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson provides students with the opportunity to learn discrete research skills as necessary through mini lessons.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to conduct independent research. Encourage students to work in their triads to research on one device, supporting one another to read, find the gist of, and record notes on information they find.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 4, Work Time A)
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Questions about Epidemics anchor chart (one for display; from Module, 2, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Researchers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, Work Time B)
  • Homework: Synthesize Research and Refine Questions (example for teacher reference) (from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Homework B)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening B)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, Work Time A)
  • Research Mini-Lessons (for teacher reference) (from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Patient Zero by Marilee Peters (text; from Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Vocabulary log (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Homework: Analyze Interactions: Model Podcast Script, Part III (answers for teacher reference) (see Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 (one per student)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 ▲
  • Computer or tablet (one per student; see Technology and Multimedia)
  • Homework: Analyze Interactions: Model Podcast Script, Part III (one per student; see Homework Resources)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 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 students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner – RI.7.3 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 and Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 ▲, as necessary. The differentiated entrance ticket supports students with comprehension and writing with sentence frames. ▲
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique to review their responses to item 1.
  • Then allow time for podcast triads to join together and share their responses to the entrance tickets (as well as their responses to Homework: Synthesize Research and Refine Questions). Then triads can make a plan for their research time in this lesson, dividing the new tasks and setting new goals for questions they must answer in order to tell the story of the events, individuals, and ideas in the epidemic they are researching. Invite students to retrieve their Epidemic Research planner and record their new questions, plans, and tasks for research in Research Jobs and Due Dates chart.
  • Repeated routine: follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • For the entrance ticket, challenge students to orally rehearse their responses before recording them. Doing so will provide them with the opportunity to refine their language and their thoughts.

For Heavier Support

  • Invite students to use the Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 . This resource supports students’ language use and comprehension with sentence frames.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Research – W.7.7, W.7.8 (30 minutes)

  • Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can research to answer questions about epidemics.”

  • Inform students that they will continue their research to answer their questions about epidemics, especially about the key events, individuals, and ideas involved in the epidemic. Focus students on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, Questions about Epidemics anchor chart, and Researchers Do These Things anchor chart, and ask them to retrieve their Researcher’s Toolbox and Epidemic research note-catcher or Epidemic research note-catcher ▲.
  • Remind students that doing online research requires integrity and responsibility. As necessary, review these habits of character on the Work to Become Ethical People and Work to Become Effective Learners anchor charts. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

“Why does online research require integrity and responsibility? How do you plan to show these traits today?” (Answers will vary, but may include: When doing online research, we must stay focused on our topic because it’s tempting to look at other things online. This focus takes integrity, being honest with ourselves about what we’re doing, and responsibility, using the freedom and trust we’re given to do our best work and grow as students.)

  • Allow students several minutes to review their notes, then have them Turn and Talk to share their plan for researching. Use a Thumb-O-Meter to assess who needs help researching. Depending on needs, pair students or draw them into a small group to assist them, using the suggestions in Research Mini-Lessons (for teacher reference). If many students need support, group them by steps in the research process (e.g., groups of students working together to refine their questions, take notes, and find and evaluate new sources). ▲
  • Repeated routine: three minutes before the end of the time, refocus the group and invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • During Work Time A, encourage students to use a self-assessment technique (such as Thumb-O-Meter) to determine which mini lessons they need to attend.

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Time A, encourage students to attend all the mini lessons to ensure they understand all the steps of the research process. Also, encourage students to use the Epidemic Research note-catcher from Lesson 2. This resource supports students by listing the discrete steps of the research process and supporting students’ processing of information in those steps.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Research Synthesis - RI.7.3 (10 minutes)

  • Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can analyze how individuals, ideas, and events influence one another."

  • Remind students that one of their focuses while researching is how the individuals, events, and ideas interact in the sources they are finding. Ask students to retrieve their copies of Homework: Synthesize Epidemic Research and Refine Questions and spend a few minutes adding any details they discovered in their research about the key events, individuals, and ideas in their epidemic.
  • Then ask students to join with their triad to share the new details they each found in their research. Encourage students to listen to their triad members and then make connections between and across all three members' research. Then they can orally tell the story of the epidemic and identify any further research needs they have, recording those needs on the Epidemic Research planner in the Research Jobs and Due Dates chart.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets and the habits of character focus in this lesson, especially integrity and responsibility, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • Challenge students to first write a synthesis of their research before sharing with their triad. Writing allows students to generate ideas and check their language use.

For Heavier Support

  • Encourage students to first create an illustrated synthesis of the key individuals, ideas, and events before sharing with their triad. This pre-thinking allows students to generate ideas and gives them confidence when sharing orally.

Homework

HomeworkLevels of Support

A. Synthesize Epidemic Research and Refine Questions

  • Students use Homework: Synthesize Research and Refine Questions from Lesson 3 to continue to reflect on the individuals, events, and ideas emerging about their epidemic. Then they refine their research questions as necessary.

B. Analyze Interactions of Individuals, Events, and Ideas

  • In preparation for the mid-unit assessment, students review their responses to their previous homeworks analyzing the model podcast script and complete Homework: Analyze Interactions: Model Podcast Script, Part III to answer constructed response questions about how the individuals, events, and ideas interact in the script.

For Lighter Support

  • Before the end of class, encourage students to work with a partner to review the homework questions and orally rehearse their answers. Doing so will ensure their comprehension and achievement.
  • In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from the assessment text "Disease Detective." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Invite students to predict some of the questions that the Language Dive may ask. This will improve students' metacognition and challenge their awareness of the most interesting or meaningful elements of the sentence.

For Heavier Support

  • Before the end of class, review the homework questions and model finding answers in the Model Podcast Script. Doing so will ensure students' comprehension and achievement.
  • In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from the assessment text "Disease Detective." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Encourage students to independently reflect on this sentence and its meaning before the next lesson. Students may also wish to use dictionaries to add any unknown vocabulary and meanings to their vocabulary logs.

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