A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3.

• Invite students to help compile a complete list of all the Greek gods and goddess mentioned in the novel. Explain that students are to choose one of these for the focus of their research or choose another not yet mentioned.

• 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.

• Explain that students will need to apply their close reading skills as they conduct their independent research on their Greek god or goddess. This research will be necessary to complete the End of Unit 3 Assessment and the performance task.

• Turn and Talk:

"What do you think you will be doing in this lesson based on these learning targets?" (We will be researching our Greek god to gather the information we need to help us build our character.)

"Why are we doing this? How is it meaningful to you? How will it help you to be successful?" (Our research will also help us build knowledge about our topic in order to answer the guiding questions of the module and enable us to build our skills as readers and thinkers with new texts.)

A. Research a Greek God – RI.6.7 (30 minutes)

• Ask students to retrieve the Model Performance Task Slideshow printout with the notes they took during Lesson 1.

• Distribute and display Greek God Research note-catcher.

• Read the directions aloud, and field questions as needed.

• Direct students to begin researching and completing their Greek God Research note-catcher. Circulate as students work to support and troubleshoot. If students need additional support, feel free to share the Greek God Research note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as appropriate. ▲ Remind students to review the Model Performance Task Slideshow printout and their notes to help focus their research. Be mindful of students who may be researching someone other than a Greek god due to family concerns.

• To streamline the research process in classrooms where computers are available, link to suggested websites using bookmarks on the homepage of students’ computers. That way, slow typers and struggling readers do not waste time reaching the needed websites. ▲

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

During Work Time A, students will be conducting independent research about a Greek god of their choice. Though the sites linked on the Greek God Research note-catcher offer short texts and helpful visuals, there may still be vocabulary that is challenging for students. Preselect a few of the Greek gods from one of the sites, such as http://eled.org/0130, and develop a short glossary of keywords for students to use as they read. Add to the glossary simple definitions or visuals for the words warrior, vulnerability, sorrow, and undefeated.

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

A. Pair Share – W.6.5 (10 minutes)

• Instruct students to find a nearby partner with whom to share their Greek God Research note-catcher. Remind them to check the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart before they share, focusing on respect and compassion.

• As students share their findings, encourage them to give their partner one star and one step to improve their research. If students struggle to understand their partners’ research or to generate ideas to improve them, allow them to write questions or simply highlight/circle strong words or ideas. ▲

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Provide students with a list of guiding questions that they can use to generate stars and steps for their partners. These questions can be written to challenge students' language abilities and critical thinking (e.g., Is your partner's summary objective? How do you know? Does your partner's summary capture the central idea of the text? What suggestions would you offer?).

To reduce the amount of writing students need to complete, provide students with a short set of sentence frames that they can complete to generate stars and steps for their partners to improve their summaries (e.g., One great thing about my partner's summary is . . .; one thing my partner can improve is . . .).