A. Engage the Learner - W.6.5 (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3. Students will also need their Problem-Solution Writing Planner: William.

• 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.

A. The Painted Essay®: Sort and Color-Code the Parts of an Introduction – W.6.2a (15 minutes)

• Move students into their predetermined writing partners.

• Distribute Organize the Model: Introduction strips and scissors. Direct students to cut out the strips.

• Remind students of the parts of an introduction:

  • Context: information to engage the reader and provide needed background

  • Focus statement

• Explain that pairs need to put the parts together in the right order.

• Tell students that when they have finished, they will check their work against the Model Problem-Solution Essay: “Bridges to Prosperity.”

• Invite students to begin, and circulate to support students in reading and sorting the strips of the introduction.

• Refocus whole group.

• Invite students to chorally read the introduction together as a class, stopping after each sentence to explain its function in the paragraph. As needed, allow processing time and cue students to think internally:

“I’ll give you time to think and write or sketch.”

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

For further practice with the paraphrasing skills targeted during Unit 2, invite students who need lighter support to paraphrase two or three sentences from the introduction of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity." Challenge them to not only exchange words for their synonyms, but also to rearrange structural components of the sentence(s) to produce grammatically distinct sentences that preserve the same ideas as the originals.

In Work Time A, after students analyze the introduction of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," invite students to participate in a Mini Language Dive in small groups to explore ways to use a verb written in the imperative mood (Imagine) to evoke empathy and capture the reader's attention in an introduction (W.6.2a, L.6.3a). Strongly encourage students to manipulate the structure of the Practice section to use as a "hook" in their own problem-solution essays.

For further practice with the paraphrasing skills targeted during Unit 2, provide students who need heavier support with simple paraphrases of sentences from the introduction of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity" and give them time to locate the original sentences in the essay. Examples can be found below:

Paraphrase: Many remote communities have rivers that isolate them and limit their ability to attend school, get a job, or get medical attention. (Original sentence: The problem for many isolated communities is that rivers separate them from schools, jobs, and health services.)

Paraphrase: The connectivity and access provided by these bridges help reduce rural poverty. (Original sentence: These bridges tackle poverty in rural areas by connecting communities to services they could not access before.)

B. Collaborative Writing: Draft an Introduction - W.6.2a (20 minutes)

• Invite students to retrieve their Problem-Solution Writing Planner: William and their copy of the Informative Writing checklist. Point out the following characteristic on the checklist:

"W.6.2a: I have an introduction that gives readers the context they need to understand the topic or text."

• Ask:

"Are there any specific criteria you should be aware of and list in the second column on the checklist?" (The introduction gives context information about the problem, the innovator, and how he/she became inspired to address this critical problem.)

• As students share out, capture their responses in the Characteristics of This Informative Essay column as needed. Refer to the Informative Writing checklist (example for teacher reference) as needed.

• Explain that, in this lesson, students will work with their writing partner to draft their introduction to the problem-solution essay focused on William Kamkwamba. Students should base their draft on the information they gathered and organized on their Design Solution: William note-catcher and Problem-Solution Writing Planner: William.

• Distribute lined paper or devices, and invite writing partners to begin.

• Circulate and monitor, referencing the following resources as necessary:

  • Design-Solution: William note-catcher (example for teacher reference)

  • Problem Solution Writing Planner: William (example for teacher reference)

  • Problem-Solution Essay: William (example for teacher reference)

• With two minutes remaining, refocus students and allow time for them to log off devices or put away materials.

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

A. Reflect on Learning - SL.6.1 (5 minutes)

• Move students into groups of three or four, and have them reread each of the Habits of Character anchor charts.

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

In the following lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a key sentence from Proof Paragraph 1 of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Challenge students who need lighter support to rewrite the sentence using different sentence-starters without changing the meaning and without trimming any information from the sentence. These sentence-starters should require manipulating and/or moving around different elements of the sentence:

One in seven people _____. [e.g., One in seven people cannot safely access the services and products they need to survive, which is a critical problem (Bang).]

This is a critical problem because the services and products _____. [e.g., This is a critical problem because the services and products that people need to survive cannot be safely accessed by one in seven people (Bang).]

In the following lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a key sentence from Proof Paragraph 1 of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Invite students who need heavier support to underline words in the sentence using different colors according to their parts of speech (nouns, blue; verbs, red; adjectives, yellow; pronouns, purple). Challenge them not to use a dictionary to help them. Check students' answers later and, as needed, incorporate additional part-of-speech work into future lessons.