A. Engage the Learner – L.6.3a (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 or optional Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 ▲. Refer to the Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 (example for teacher reference) for possible responses.

• Using a total participation technique, ask:

“Why might writers simplify complex sentences as you did on the entrance ticket?” To vary their sentence structure. To add interest and keep each sentence from sounding repetitive. To make the writing more logical or easier to follow.

• Explain that, as writing partners continue to draft their collaborative essays, they should be aware of their sentence structure and look for ways to make variations.

• 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.

• Focus students on the Habits of Character anchor charts and invite them to read them to themselves. Direct students to choose a habit of character to focus on as they work today.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Opening A, invite students who need heavier support to use the Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 4 ▲. This resource features sentence starters to help them effectively deconstruct and rewrite a complex sentence as multiple simpler sentences.

A. Analyze a Model: Proof Paragraph 1 – W.6.2b (10 minutes)

• Ask students to retrieve their Model Problem-Solution Model Essay: “Bridges to Prosperity.”

• Move students into writing partners. Review the focus from the introduction of the model essay, including the problem and the solution identified.

• Invite students to chorally read, with their partner, the first body paragraph of the model essay.

• Turn and Talk:

“What do you notice about this paragraph?” (It is all focused around the problem. It contains evidence from multiple research sources.)

• Point out that the body paragraphs have been labeled with headings to support the reader in understanding the main idea of each paragraph.

• Explain that the author has provided evidence to support her first point and then elaborated on the evidence presented. This elaboration explains how the innovator responded to the problem.

• Direct students to read the first proof paragraph again leaving out the first three sentences (“The problem for . . . ” through “ . . . any way they can.”)

• Turn and Talk, cueing students to challenge their thinking:

“What if the writer had not included this information? How would that change the reader’s understanding of this topic?” (There would not be enough context to understand the problem and why it is critical.)

• Draw students’ attention to the information in parentheses—Bang and “Bridges to Prosperity.”

• Ask:

“What information is contained in these parentheses?” (The source from where this information was found.)

“Why does the author include the source information?” (To prove that the information is reliable and credible. To demonstrate that information was drawn from multiple outside sources. To point readers to resources where they can find out more, if they are interested.)

• Direct students to read the first proof paragraph again leaving out the last two sentences (“In this way . . . ” through “ . . . ideas for solutions.”)

• Turn and Talk:

“What if the writer had not included this information? How would that change the reader’s understanding of the topic?” (The paragraph would just end without a logical segue into the next paragraph. It would not make a connection to design thinking and would not demonstrate that an innovator worked to create a solution to the problem described.)

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

B. Language Dive: Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," Proof Paragraph 1 - W.6.2c (10 minutes)

• Tell students they will now participate in a Language Dive to analyze a key sentence from Proof Paragraph 1 of the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity" and study the way that it connects key ideas in the essay. Distribute colored pencils (yellow, green, blue, and red) to each student.

• Reread aloud the excerpt from the Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity" starting at "The problem for many isolated communities is that . . . " in Proof Paragraph 1 and ending with "Increasing 'connectivity' (connecting people to basic resources) is the immediate problem that B2P is working to solve."

• Focus students on the sentence:

  • "This is a critical problem because one in seven people cannot safely access the services and products they need to survive (Bang)."

• Use the Language Dive Guide: Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," Proof Paragraph 1 to guide students through a Language Dive conversation about the sentence. Distribute and display the Language Dive Guide: Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," Proof Paragraph 1 note-catcher, and the Language Dive Guide: Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," Proof Paragraph 1 sentence chunk strips. Refer to the Language Dive: Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity," Proof Paragraph 1 note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

Develop an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time B that invites students to explore an alternative focus structure from the sentence "the services and products they need to survive." Students who need lighter support may benefit from a mini lesson highlighting precisely when relative pronouns can be omitted. Help students understand that, if a relative pronoun is immediately followed by a verb or verb phrase, then the relative pronoun is a subject and it cannot be omitted. However, if it is immediately followed by a noun, it is an object, and it can be omitted. Provide multiple examples to support students' understanding of the distinction. For an added challenge, provide example sentences with students before sharing the grammatical rules and invite them to deduce the rule from the sentence patterns. Some examples follow below:

Here's the book [that] I want to read (object; can be omitted).

I prefer games that are more competitive (subject; cannot be omitted).

Develop an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time B that invites students to explore an alternative focus structure from the sentence "the services and products they need to survive." Students who need heavier support may need a mini lesson highlighting the role of relative clauses in a sentence. Share simple examples of other restrictive relative clauses with the omitted relative pronoun that and work with students to interpret them and locate structural patterns. Some examples follow below:

Here's the book [that] I want to read.

My sister saw the movie [that] you were talking about.

That is the only thing [that] I ate today.

C. Collaborative Writing: Draft Proof Paragraph 1 - W.6.2b (15 minutes)

• Display and 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.6.2b: I use relevant facts, definitions, details, quotations and examples to explain my thinking."

• Ask:

"Are there any specific criteria you should be aware of and list in the second column on the checklist?" (The essay contains relevant examples from both the TED Talk and my additional research sources.)

• 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 Proof Paragraph 1, the problem paragraph of 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. Students should label the first proof paragraph with an appropriate heading as shown in the model.

• 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. Debrief Collaborative Writing Process - SL.6.1b (5 minutes)

• Separate writing partners and create new partnerships for this activity.

• Explain that working with a partner to accomplish a task has its benefits and its drawbacks. Reflecting on the process can help students strategize to determine best practices for working effectively and productively. Remind students that reflections, like any partner sharing, should be kind, helpful, and specific.

• Invite students to discuss the following three questions with their new partner:

"What is going well so far in the collaborative process?"

"What could be improved about the collaborative process?"

"What specific actions will I take to make these improvements?"

• Circulate and monitor, listening to see if there are any major issues that need to be addressed. Be sure, also, to celebrate the highlights of working with a partner. As needed, cue students to listen carefully to one another:

"Can you repeat what your partner said in your own words?"