A. Read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Chapter 1 Excerpt (15 minutes)

• Invite students to retrieve their text and turn to page 4. Read aloud pages 4–17 of chapter 1 as students read along silently. Note that while students may read in small groups or individually in future lessons, students will benefit from this initial introduction to the text as a whole class.

• Read aloud the selected excerpt, using the Text Guide: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (for teacher reference) for comprehension and vocabulary questions as needed.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Before reading the chapter 1 excerpt, invite students to collaborate and produce a list of “best practices” for finding the gist of a text based on their experiences in Module 1. Offer examples to get students started (e.g., highlight phrases that discuss important events; pay special attention to the way new characters are introduced).

• Remind students they will finish chapter 1 in the next lesson. For this reason, they will hold off on determining gist.

• Think-Pair-Share:

“What happened?” (William introduces himself and provides a bit of background about his country Malawi and his family.)

“What habits of character did you practice as you read about the hardships people faced in the area William grew up in? Why?” (Student responses will vary, but may include empathy and compassion because William describes how seeing a doctor is difficult for farmers, and how many farmers cannot afford an education.)

• Invite a student to paraphrase the key points in more comprehensible language for those who need heavier support. ▲

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

During Work Time A, invite students who need heavier support to use the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher ▲. This resource contains model answers to guide students’ understanding of expectations.

• Use Synopsis: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Chapter 1 to review and note key details for this excerpt. This will help to complete students’ understanding of the events, especially if they are not able to complete the reading of the full excerpt.

• Invite students to share any new words, adding any unfamiliar words to their vocabulary logs. Add any new words to the academic word wall and domain-specific word wall, and invite students to add translations in native languages. ▲

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

B. Analyze Introduction of Key Individual: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – RI.6.3 (10 minutes)

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

“I can analyze how William is introduced and developed in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.”

• Before students analyze how the authors have introduced William, synthesize what students already know about him.

• Turn and Talk:

“What do we already know about William, the key individual of our anchor text?” (He lives in the village of Masitala, in the town of Wimbe, in Malawi, Africa; he lives with his six sisters and both parents; he speaks Chichewa; his family are farmers; he will build a windmill and generate electricity.)

• Display and introduce the Author’s Methods anchor chart. Briefly, review the methods listed and their definitions. See Author’s Methods anchor chart (example for teacher reference). Explain that students will be learning more about each method of developing characters as they trace the way William is introduced and portrayed throughout this module.

• Explain that students are going to apply this beginning understanding about author’s methods to chapter 1 and the TED Talk.

• Distribute the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher or the optional Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher ▲. Chorally read each of the headings of the graphic organizer. Explain that individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Careful readers take note of how a writer introduces and develops a key individual and how that individual evolves. Studying an individual’s experiences exposes the reader to new ideas, expands one’s knowledge, and prompts us to consider other worldviews that may challenge or strengthen one’s own convictions.

• Point out that there are two authors for this text, hence the reference to “writers” as plural. Note also that the word character as it is used in this context refers to one’s moral qualities, not character as in a person in a story. Remind students not to refer to William as a character as this text is narrative nonfiction; while it reads like a novel, it is, in fact, an informational text.

• Ask:

“What did we learn about William in the prologue?” (William is confident in himself and his machine. William demonstrates perseverance as he meticulously assembles the windmill even though others tease him and laugh at him.)

“How do you know this about William? What is one method the writers used to convey those qualities?” (They let us know what he was thinking, his inner thoughts; although we hear dialogue from other people, William doesn’t speak, but we get to know what he’s thinking.)

“How does this method help to introduce him and the events to come in the text?” (We are able meet him at the end of his process, the moment when he is successful, which tells us something about his character and makes us curious about how he got to this moment, so we are excited to read the book.)

• Think aloud to model filling in the first row of the graphic organizer in Part I. Note that the first row is focused on the prologue, which students read in Lesson 1. Refer to the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary. Explain that the authors use multiple methods for introducing William in the prologue; students should be able to cite evidence for the method they have identified.

• Focus students on the second row—Chapter 1.

• Think-Pair-Share:

“What is a method used by the writers to introduce or develop William as a key individual in the first half of chapter 1?” (Description.)

• Using a total participation technique, such as equity sticks, call on students to share their initial thoughts. Note that it is common during the exposition of a text for an author to use description to establish setting. Refer to the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

• Think-Pair-Share:

“Why is this detailed description of the setting important to have in chapter 1? What can the reader infer about William and his character in the first half of chapter 1?” (We learn that there is little technology, which provides more context than is evident in the prologue. We learn what is important to William and the people in his village, and the description also helps us understand some of William’s thoughts, actions, and feelings that we were introduced to in the prologue.)

• Cue students to clarify their answers as needed:

“So do you mean ____?”

• Using a total participation technique, call on students to share their initial thoughts.

• Explain that they will continue to analyze how the authors’ methods develop our understanding of William and the ideas in the text during the rest of Unit 1.

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

C. View TED Talk: "How I Built a Windmill" - RI.6.3 (10 minutes)

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

"I can analyze how William is introduced in the TED Talk."

• Explain that students will watch or read the transcript of William's first TED Talk (he later gave a second) in which he is interviewed by Chris Anderson, the Curator of TED. Remind them that they will, again, be looking for evidence of how William is introduced and developed in this resource as they did with the text.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

A transcript for the TED Talk of Work Time C is available online. Distribute the transcript (in English) to students ahead of time. For an added listening challenge, white-out some of the transcript's words or phrases and invite students to fill in the blanks based on what they hear as they watch the TED Talk. If possible, choose words and phrases that students have already studied and/or that are closely related to the module topic. These words may include windmill, design, electricity, and/or energy.

• Briefly review the two questions at the top of the columns of the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher. Direct students to listen for information that will help them respond to these prompts, though they do not need to write anything yet while they watch or read the transcript.

• Distribute TED Talk Transcript: William Kamkwamba, "How I Built a Windmill" and display the TED Talk: William Kamkwamba: "How I Built a Windmill" video. Play the talk in its entirety.

• Tell students that they will reflect on the interview using the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol. Guide students through the protocol as follows:

1. 1. Students find a partner and label themselves Partner A and Partner B.

   2. Students stand back to back with their partner, being respectful of space.

   3. Students wait for the question that they will be asked to share with their partner.

   4. Students think about what they want to share and how they might best express themselves.

   5. Say, "Face-to-face." Students turn and face their partners. Partner A should answer the question first.

   6. Students listen carefully when their partner is speaking and make eye contact with him or her. Partner B should respond after Partner A is finished speaking.

   7. Say, "Back-to-back." Students return to their initial position (back to back) and wait for the next question.

• Follow this process for each of the two prompts under Part I of the Analyze Key Individual: William note-catcher. Remind students to answer based only on the information from the TED Talk they just experienced.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Transcripts for the TED Talk of Work Time C are available in multiple languages. Create home language groups and inviting students to read the transcript first in their home language. Students can begin by discussing the material in their home languages before watching the video in English as a class.

• Refocus whole group, and call on individual students to share their or their partner's response to one of the questions. Correct and clarify any misconceptions.

• Ensure that students notice that the TED Talk uses dialogue in an interview style to help the viewer understand what William was able to do, how he did it, and why his accomplishments are significant to be shared in this setting.

• Use a total participation technique to review and correct any misunderstandings before moving on and to update the Author's Methods anchor chart. Refer to the Author's Methods anchor chart (example for teacher reference).

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

A. Reflect on the Module Guiding Questions (5 minutes)

• Remind students that they were introduced in the previous lesson to the guiding questions for the module. Invite students to reread the Module Guiding Questions anchor chart. Explain that not all students will be interested in design process thinking or William's quest to build a windmill. Ensure students understand that it is okay to have different opinions.

• Remind students that for homework they were asked to reflect on what those guiding questions mean to them and how they feel about them. Students may want to retrieve any notes or sketches they made as part of their reflection.

• Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart, specifically on respect and empathy and what this looks and sounds like.

• Invite any students who would like to do so to share their reflections with the whole group. This must be voluntary--if no one wants to share, that is okay.

• Think-Pair-Share:

"Where do we see answers to the module guiding questions starting to emerge in the text and video?" (Responses will vary. Possible responses: William is going to apply his learning to help his community by building a windmill to solve a critical problem--lack of electricity.)