A. Engage the Learner - W.6.2 (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 10. Students will need to reference the Informative Writing checklist.

• 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 in previous lessons.

A. Peer Critique: Problem-Solution Essay - W.6.5 (20 minutes)

• Explain that today students will give and receive feedback about their Problem-Solution Essay from the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment. They will help each other take the first drafts and make them into high-quality work pieces.

• Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart and remind them specifically of respect and compassion. Remind students that the purpose of peer feedback is to help the other student improve his or her work, so when we provide feedback, we have to be careful to ensure we are respectful and compassionate.

• Remind students that peer critique is not about telling someone how bad his or her work is--it is about celebrating the good things about the work and helping to make it even better.

• Display and refocus students on their Informative Writing checklist.

• Focus students on the criteria:

"W.6.2c: I use appropriate transitions to show how ideas and information connect."

"L.6.3b: I use different types of sentences to make meaning clear and interest the reader."

• Invite students to mark or highlight these criteria, as they will be the focus of the critique.

• Move students into pairs and invite them to label themselves A and B.

• Distribute sticky notes. Remind students that this is where they will record stars and steps for their partner.

• Focus students on the Work to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart, specifically "use my strengths." Remind students that because they will be working to give a critique to their partner, they will need to use their strengths to help their partner grow.

• Tell students they will peer critique to provide their partner with kind, specific, and helpful feedback using the criteria on the checklist. Remind them to use the Directions for Peer Critique and Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart.

• Circulate to support students as they give feedback to one another. Emphasize that students should not make revisions yet. As needed, cue students to seek to deepen their thinking as they provide feedback:

"Why do you think that? What, in the essay, makes you think so?"

• Invite students to reflect on their progress towards the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique. Scan student responses and make a note of students who might need support to check in with them moving forward.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

Before Work Time A, invite students who need lighter support to compile a list of words and phrases that writers can use to signal transitions in their essays. Challenge students to distinguish these transitional words and phrases according to their function (e.g., additionally, also--to add information; however, whereas, on the other hand--to show contrast). Display these transitional phrases for all students to refer to while providing feedback.

If feasible, before Work Time A, encourage students to revisit the Practice sections of the Language Dives of Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 14; Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 12; and Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 4. These Language Dives helped students learn to incorporate transitions to connect ideas and vary sentence pattern to clarify meaning and increase reader interest.

For added support during Work Time A, pair students who speak the same home language. Allow them to use their home languages as a resource to help them interpret their partners' essays and ask clarifying questions.

B. Revise Problem-Solution Essay - W.6.2 (15 minutes)

• Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and remind them of initiative and responsibility as they revise their work.

• Invite students to revise their writing using the peer feedback they were given. Circulate to support students as they revise their work.

• Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

A. Review Performance Task (5 minutes)

• Distribute and display the Performance Task: Solution Symposium and explain the different components to the task: the flip-down visual, presentation prompts, and series of events during each presentation. Refer to Performance Task Overview.

• Focus students on the displayed Performance Task anchor chart. Remind students what the performance task asks of them since it has been a while since they first discussed it at the start of Unit 1. Field questions and offer clarification, reminding students that they will work on each piece one at a time over the next several lessons.

• Explain that in the next lesson they will analyze a model visual and presentation and start creating their own materials.