A. Return Mid-Unit Assessments (10 minutes)

• As students enter the classroom, distribute Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lessons 15-16, and allow time for students to record their responses using their Mid-Unit 1 Assessments with feedback.

• Circulate as students review their feedback, and offer guidance and support as necessary.

• Once all students are ready, invite them to share their "stars" and "steps" with a partner. Remind students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development.

B. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as 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 previous lessons.

A. Read The Lightning Thief, Chapter 12 Excerpt - RL.6.1 (15 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Read aloud the selected excerpt, using Text Guide: The Lightning Thief (for teacher reference) for comprehension and vocabulary questions as needed. Students continue to record the gist on sticky notes, unpack and record unfamiliar vocabulary, and reflect on their reading as they choose. Refer to the following resources as appropriate to support this section of the lesson: Gist recording chart (example for teacher reference), vocabulary logs, chapter synopsis, and Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart.

• Excerpt: Starting at page 190 "'How are we going to get into the Underworld?' I asked him" and ending at page 194 "'. . . Wake! the dead whispered. Wake!'"

• Gist: The trio returns a lost dog to get the reward money and buy a train ticket west.

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

B. End of Unit 1 Assessment: Text-Based Discussion: The Lightning Thief, Chapters 1–12 (45 minutes)

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

“I can use evidence from the text to support my ideas during a text-based discussion.”

“I can follow discussion norms to have an effective text-based discussion.”

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Recognize that students have come across many new words over the course of Unit 1. If there is extra time, encourage students to revisit and review the words in their vocabulary logs, brainstorming strategies for retention and opportunities for productive use.

• Distribute End of Unit 1 Assessment: Text-Based Discussion: The Lightning Thief, Chapters 1–12.

• Read aloud the directions for each part of the assessment as students silently follow along. Read, reread, and rephrase. Answer clarifying questions.

• Tell students that while they wait to participate in the discussion, they should complete Part II of the assessment independently and without talking. Remind them that this is an assessment. Display a “map” of the assessment. Example:

  • Two parts:

    • Part I: Collaborative discussion with small group

    • Part II: Answer short response questions

• Focus students on all of the characteristics on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart: respect, compassion, and empathy in preparation for the discussion, and integrity in preparation for working independently on Part II of the assessment. Review what each characteristic looks like and sounds like.

• Focus students on the Discussion Norms anchor chart, specifically on the cues and responses. Remind them that a discussion is not just about saying what they want to say and then they are done. Effective participation is about listening to others and asking and answering questions to be completely clear about what others are saying and to clarify their own points.

• Ensure all students understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves.

• Direct students to retrieve their copies of The Lightning Thief and their completed Prepare for Text-Based Discussion: The Lightning Thief, Chapters 1–12 note-catcher. Invite students to begin working on the assessment.

• One by one, call out groups to work in a discussion area away from other students so as not to disrupt them from working on Part II of the assessment. Allocate each group 20 minutes and facilitate a Socratic Seminar discussion in each of the 20-minute blocks.

• Invite the remaining students to begin working on Part II of the assessment.

• If productive, use a Goal 1 Conversation Cue to encourage students to expand their responses to the text-dependent questions by giving examples:

“Can you say more about that?”

“Can you give an example?”

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Be thoughtful about creating groups for the text-based discussion. It may be most helpful and appropriate to bring together students with a wide range of language abilities into one group; or, alternatively, allow ELLs who need heavier support to work together, to improve confidence and allow more equal contributions. Group strategically according to students' needs.

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

• This is a baseline assessment—not all students have practiced a discussion yet, so this is to help determine where they are and what they need to work on.

A. Track Progress - SL.6.1 (15 minutes)

• Give students specific positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment (e.g., "I was pleased to see a lot of you referring back to your texts to find details").

• Distribute Track Progress: Collaborative Discussion and Track Progress folders. Tell students that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning and that they will complete a form like this after most of their assessments.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Accept a wide variety of responses on the Track Progress recording form (e.g., visuals, keywords, translations into students' home languages).

• Select volunteers to read aloud each criterion for the whole group. After hearing each one read aloud, invite students to Turn and Talk with an elbow partner:

"What does that criterion mean, in your own words?" (Responses will vary.)

• Read the directions aloud for students, and answer clarifying questions. Explain the scale and what each number represents. They should give themselves a 3 if they think they have achieved that criterion in their reading of new texts, a 4 if they think they have done even more than the criterion asks, a 2 if they think they are nearly there but not quite, and a 1 if they think they still have a lot of work to do.

• Distribute sticky notes. Tell students to use these to identify evidence in their work from the unit of their progress toward each criterion.

• Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence of the following criteria:

  • SL.6.1a: Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

  • SL.6.1b: Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

• Guide students through completing question 1 of the Track Progress form. If this is the first time students have completed this form, they may not be able to answer this question. In this situation, tell students to leave it blank, and explain that the next time they fill out the same form, they should be able to answer this question. If students completed these forms in Grade 5, they may look back to their Grade 5 forms.

• Point out the Teacher Response section under question 2. Tell students that later, they will read each student's reflection and respond with feedback.

• Direction students' attention to question 3 on the form, and select a volunteer to read it aloud for the group:

"How can I improve next time?"

• Invite students to reflect on their own or with a partner on how they can improve on this skill in the future. Select volunteers to share with the group.

• Invite students to record their thinking in the appropriate spot on the Track Progress form.

• Invite students to place the form in their Track Progress folder, and collect students' folders.