Prepare for Activist Organization Interview | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M4:U3:L7

Prepare for Activist Organization Interview

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • SL.8.1, SL.8.6

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.

  • W.8.10, L.8.6

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can practice adapting my speech to conduct a phone interview, focusing on speaking clearly and using academic language. (SL.8.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Work Times A and B: Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (SL.8.6, W.8.10)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Triad Debrief - SL.8.1 (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Analyze and Prepare Phone Script - SL.8.6 (15 minutes)

B. Analyze and Prepare Interview Questions - SL.8.6 (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Practice Phone Interview - SL.8.6 (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Script and Interview Practice: Students practice reading aloud their phone scripts and/or interview questions in preparation for the interviews of the next lesson.

B. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • SL.8.1 – Opening A: Students participate in a collaborative discussion in triads about their research.
  • SL.8.6 – Work Time A: Students analyze and prepare a phone script, focusing on how the script is crafted to suit the context and demands of the task (i.e., a professional interview with an adult).
  • SL.8.6 – Work Time B: Students prepare interview questions, which they will ask over the phone in the next lesson. These interview questions should be carefully crafted to suit the context and demands of the task (i.e., a professional interview with an adult).
  • SL.8.6 – Closing and Assessment A: Students practice saying and asking aloud their phone and interview scripts. They adapt their speech to suit the professional context in which the interview will take place.
  • In this lesson, students work to become effective learners through meaningful collaboration. Students collaborate to plan the interviews they will conduct in the next lesson.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • As students prepare to conduct phone interviews in the next lesson, consider developing a mini lesson aimed at helping ELLs vary their intonation in English. For example, distribute a list of questions, including follow-up questions, that they may wish to ask during their interviews. Coach students through accurate intonation of those questions. Help them notice that yes/no questions (e.g., clarifying questions, like “Is that right?”) have a rising intonation, while wh- and how questions (e.g., the main questions of the interview, like “How does your organization support and uplift other human beings?”) have a falling intonation. Invite students to practice with one another. For added practice, invite students to play a game in which they can only interact with one another using (appropriately intonated) questions. ▲ Some examples of questions to include in this mini lesson are listed below:
    • Could you please repeat that? (rising intonation)
    • Is there anything I should add? (rising intonation)
    • How does your organization help people find strength within their communities? (falling intonation)
    • Would you be open to us reaching out to you again in the future? (rising intonation)
    • Is there anything else we should know about your organization? (rising intonation)
    • What else should we know about your organization? (falling intonation)

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students conducted research into three local organizations who work in the community that reflect the lessons from internment that students identified earlier in the unit. In this lesson, triads consolidate their notes and prepare to conduct an interview with one of their identified organizations.

Support All Students

  • If phones are not available or practical, students should plan to contact organizations via email. If so, throughout the lesson, students should work on the text of an email rather than a phone script. However, most of the language will remain the same. At the end of this lesson, students can send their emails to all three organizations, so that they are more likely to get a response by the following lesson.
  • Some students, especially ELLs, may lean heavily on nonverbal cues, like body language, to interpret spoken English. These students may benefit from additional practice with phone and interview skills before the interviews in the next lesson. Consider fun and low-stakes ways for students to practice these skills. For example, give each student a list of three lighthearted questions written on index cards, and invite them to stand back-to-back with a partner. Students can practice asking and answering their questions without nonverbal cues to support their listening comprehension. ▲
  • During the Closing and Assessment of the lesson, pair each triad of students with another triad to take turns rehearsing their phone scripts. A student from each triad can role-play as a representative from their own community organization and respond to the other triad’s questions. This will both allow each group to practice their script in an interactive way while also helping the students who role-play as representatives to anticipate the responses they might get when carrying out their own interviews. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation handouts to ensure that students are developing appropriate questions to ask their interviewees.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will contact a local organization to conduct an interview and learn more about the work of the organization and how this organization connects to lessons from internment. They will synthesize this information with the research conducted in the previous lesson.

In Advance

  • Prepare all needed materials, including copies of the Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Questions for each student (see Performance Task Overview and Supporting Materials).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules 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 8.I.A.1 and 8.I.A.4.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson builds on the work students carried out in the previous lesson and continues to prepare students for the End of Unit 3 Assessment and the performance task. Students work in triads to analyze phone scripts and interview questions before preparing their own. In the Closing and Assessment of the lesson, students have time to practice their interviews with local community organizations that embody lessons from Japanese American internment, which they will carry out in the next lesson.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to develop appropriate phone scripts and interview questions. Monitor students carefully as they prepare for the interviews in the next lesson, and use strategic grouping and peer feedback to promote carefully designed scripts and interview questions. Prioritize oral rehearsal of interview questions to help students build confidence in carrying out interviews

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Performance Task anchor chart (one for display; from Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lessons 4-5, Work Time D)
  • Performance Task: Activist Organization note-catcher (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 6, Work Time B)
  • Performance Task: Model Activist Organization note-catcher (one per student and one for display; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 6, Work Time A)
  • Performance Task: Activist Assembly directions (one per student and one for display; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 6, Opening A)
  • Lessons from Internment note-catcher (one per student; from Module 4, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Independent reading journal (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (example for teacher reference) (see Performance Task Overview and Supporting Materials)
  • Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (one per student; see Performance Task Overview and Supporting Materials)

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

Opening

A. Triad Debrief – SL.8.1 (10 minutes)

  • As students enter class, they should retrieve their Performance Task: Activist Organization note-catchers and sit with their triads. Remind students that they will only be interviewing one organization; the information from that interview will inform their answers on their note-catchers, their presentations, and their contributions to the Activist Assembly. Students have researched three organizations in order to increase the likelihood that they will be able to successfully conduct an interview with an available organization representative during class. Students identified two of these organizations on their own; the third was assigned to them after being prevetted to gauge availability for an interview.
  • Invite students to report the additional findings about the three organizations they researched to the other members of their triads. If students were not able to complete their online research for homework, they should do so now. Consider limiting the number of organizations students have to research to two or even one to reduce the cognitive load for those students for whom research is new or challenging. ▲
  • Group members should add notes about the organizations to their note-catchers. Triads should determine their first-choice organization (i.e., the one they most want to interview and will call first), as well as their second and third choices. Students should select as their first-choice organization the one whose work they feel most connected to or moved by.
  • Remind students to refer to the Performance Task: Model Activist Organization note-catcher, Performance Task anchor chart, and Performance Task: Activist Assembly directions as needed.
  • 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. Tell students that the habit of character focus of this lesson is collaboration. If time allows, invite students to revisit the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Analyze and Prepare Phone Script - SL.8.6 (15 minutes)

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

"I can practice adapting my speech to conduct a phone interview, focusing on speaking clearly and using academic language."

  • Distribute Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation to each student. This document will help students develop their phone scripts and interview questions, so that they are prepared to call their selected organizations in the next lesson. Remind students that, although they will be completing this task in triads, each student needs to complete their own document. Explain to students that each member of the triad should take notes to practice this important skill and to ensure they each have a copy of the notes for homework, presentations, and discussions in upcoming lessons.
  • Draw students' attention to the first box, which contains a sample phone script. This phone script contains language that they should use when making their phone calls in the next lesson.
  • Turn and Talk:

"Why is it helpful to have a phone script prepared before calling your selected organization?" (Responses will vary, but may include: we want to make sure to carefully explain our reason for calling without forgetting anything important; talking on the phone can be nerve-wracking; a phone script helps us speak more professionally.)

  • Point out that the sample phone script is incomplete. Students are going to complete the script, as well as identify the purpose of each sentence in the script.
  • Draw students' attention to sentences 1 and 2. Invite students to complete the sentences by filling in their name and the names of their group mates, as well as the name of their school. Students should only use their first names.
  • Tell students that, as described in the lower half of the table, the purpose of these sentences is to greet the person who answers the phone and introduce ourselves.
  • Invite students to work together with the other members of their triads to complete the phone script by writing clear and relevant answers on the lines. Triads should also identify the purpose of sentences 3 and 4, 6, and 9.
  • Also note with students that on the script there is a reminder to ask permission to record the interview. Students must ask permission to record their interviewees before doing so.
  • Give students several minutes to complete this task with their triads. Then, use a total participation technique to review their responses. Refer to the Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (example for teacher reference) as needed. Make sure that students are developing phone scripts that are concise, professional, and clear and that do not give out unnecessary personal information. As necessary, model creating a phone script by using the Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (example for teacher reference).
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • N/A

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A, after students have analyzed and prepared their phone scripts, display the Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (example for teacher reference) and review as a class. Students can refine their own phone scripts based on this model. This same support can be used in Work Time B with interview questions.

    B. Analyze and Prepare Interview Questions - SL.8.6 (15 minutes)

    • Tell students that they are now going to prepare their interview questions. Invite students to retrieve their Performance Task: Activist Organization note-catchers from the previous lesson. Give students a moment to reread the questions in the second table (i.e., those in the rows labeled "Description of organization," "Connection to lessons from internment," and "Ways to get involved"). Students will answer these questions with their triads after completing interviews and synthesizing information from the interviews and their own research.
    • Using a total participation technique, ask:

    "What is the purpose of this table on our note-catchers?" (to hold the notes that synthesize our research and interview notes; to help us prepare for our end of unit assessment presentations and the Activist Assembly)

    • Ensure students understand that the information in this table is what they will share in their end of unit assessment presentation. Draw students' attention to the first row in the table: Description of organization. Read aloud the question in the right-hand column: What is the organization, and what work does it do in the community? Remind students that they should already be able to answer this question for the three organizations they researched.
    • Explain to students that because a phone interview is likely a new task for most students, they need to prepare questions that they will ask so that they can be as clear, specific, and audience-friendly as possible.
    • Ask:

    "What question can we ask to make sure that our researched information is correct?" (Responses will vary, but may include: "Is it correct that your organization _______?")

    • Draw students' attention to the second row in the table: Connection to lessons from internment. Read aloud the question in the right-hand column: How does this work connect to the lessons from internment that we discussed in class?
    • Ask:

    "Is this a question that we should directly ask our interviewees? Why or why not?" (No, because our interviewees do not know the lessons from internment that we have studied.)

    "What can we ask our interviewees instead that will be considerate of our audience and also help us answer this question with our triads?" (Responses will vary, but may include: we can ask them what the organization does to reflect specific lessons from internment.)

    • Triads are likely to find that the work of different organizations embodies the same lessons from internment; as a result, students are unlikely to need to generate different questions for each organization (should their first choice be unavailable for an interview). Remind students to consider the manner in which all three of their researched organizations embody lessons of internment as they generate interview questions for all three organizations.
    • Draw students' attention to the third row in the table: Ways to get involved. Read aloud the accompanying question: How can people get involved with this organization, and how can they carry out similar work in their own lives for their own communities?
    • Ask:

    "Is this a question that we should directly ask our interviewees? Why or why not?" (No, because it is a complex question that might require more time or preparation to answer.)

    "What can we ask our interviewees instead that will help us answer this question with our triads?" (Responses will vary, but may include: we can ask them about specific ways in which people can help the organization; we can ask about upcoming events or volunteer opportunities.)

    • Draw students' attention back to their Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation documents. Triads can use the "Our Interview Questions" table on their handouts to draft five questions that they will ask during the phone interviews of the next lesson. Students should refer to their Lessons from Internment note-catchers to draft questions 2 and 3.
    • Circulate around the room, monitoring students' progress and referring to the Performance Task: Activist Organization Interview Preparation (example for teacher reference) as needed. Make sure that students are developing questions that are appropriate, relevant, and answerable. If productive, use variations of Goals 2 and 4 Conversation Cues to support effective collaboration within triads:

    "Can you repeat what your groupmate said in your own words?" (Goal 2)

    "Can you explain why your groupmate came up with that question?" (Goal 4)

    "Can you add on to your groupmate's idea?" (Goal 4)

    • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

    For Lighter Support

    • In Work Time B, before students begin analyzing and writing interview questions, work as a class to write interview questions for the organization on the Performance Task: Model Activist Organization note-catcher. This will deepen students' understanding of the task at hand before they carry it out with their triads.

    For Heavier Support

    • N/A

    Closing & Assessments

    ClosingLevels of Support

    A. Practice Phone Interview - SL.8.6 (5 minutes)

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

    "I can practice adapting my speech to conduct a phone interview, focusing on speaking clearly and using academic language."

    • Refocus students' attention.
    • Turn and Talk:

    "How is conducting an interview on the phone different from chatting with a friend in person? How is it different from giving a presentation in class?" (Responses will vary, but may include: A phone interview is more formal than a chat with a friend. Also, we have to speak more clearly on the phone than in person, so that people can understand us. It is different from giving a presentation in class because we have to let the other person talk.)

    "How can we effectively adapt our speech to the context of a phone interview?" (Responses will vary, but may include: we can speak clearly and slowly; we can use academic language; we can make sure to include wait time to allow our interviewee to speak).

    • Tell students that, in preparation for the interviews of the following lesson, triads should practice saying their phone script and asking their interview questions aloud. Make sure students understand that all three students in the triad are expected to take turns speaking on the phone. So the interview can flow smoothly in the next lesson, students should distribute speaking responsibilities now (e.g., student A makes the call and delivers the phone script, student B asks questions 1-3, student C asks questions 4-6). Whenever students in the triad are not speaking, they should be listening carefully to the caller answer via speakerphone and take notes on the caller's responses.
    • Circulate the classroom and support students as needed.
    • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, collaboration, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

    For Lighter Support

    • Invite students to develop a speaking checklist they can use to guide their preparation and to provide each other feedback with while practicing their interview questions.

    For Heavier Support

    • Provide students with a speaking checklist they can use to guide their preparation and to provide each other feedback with while practicing their interview questions. The checklist might include the following:
      • Clear pronunciation of words
      • Appropriate pacing (not too fast; not too slow)
      • Appropriate rising and falling intonation
      • Appropriate volume

    Homework

    Homework

    A. Script and Interview Practice

    • Students practice reading aloud their phone scripts and/or interview questions in preparation for the interviews of the next lesson.

    B. Independent Research Reading

    • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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