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 7 or optional Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 7 ▲. Refer to the Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 7 (example for teacher reference) for possible responses.

• Invite students to share out their “best practices” for productivity and record these on the board or on an anchor chart. Be sure to share your own strategies as well! Direct students to pick one or two to try during the writing time in this lesson.

• 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.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Opening A, invite students who need heavier support to use the Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 7 ▲. This resource offers a bank of possible answers that students can select from and support with an explanation, rather than requiring that students generate unique answers on their own.

A. Independent Practice: Plan a Problem-Solution Essay - W.6.2 (30 minutes)

• Distribute the Problem-Solution Writing Planner: Research.

• Explain that now that students have practiced writing collaboratively about William, they will plan their own essays about the problem and solution they researched in Unit 2.

• Remind students that they may refer to the following Materials as necessary:

  • Model Design Solution: "Bridges to Prosperity" note-catcher

  • Model Problem-Solution Writing Planner: "Bridges to Prosperity"

  • Model Problem-Solution Essay: "Bridges to Prosperity"

  • Design-Solution: Research note-catcher

  • Informative Writing checklist

  • Academic word wall

  • Domain-specific word wall

• Students may also refer to materials from their collaborative piece on William as needed.

• Circulate to support students as they plan. If necessary, prompt by asking questions such as:

"What headings can you add to clue the reader about the main idea of each paragraph?"

"In your opinion, which habit of character most contributed to the innovator's success?"

"Where does that piece of information fit in the design thinking process?"

"What evidence do you have for this point?"

• 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.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Work Time A, encourage students who need lighter support to revisit and polish the sentences they produced during the Practice sections of the Language Dives and Mini Language Dives of Lessons 3, 4, 5, and 6. Allow students to incorporate these sentences into their planners for use in the problem-solution essays that they write during the mid-unit assessment of the following lessons.

During Work Time A, provide sentence strips that feature the structural frames that students completed during the Language Dives and Mini Language Dives of Lessons 3, 4, 5, and 6. Encourage them to use these sentences as "checkpoints" around which the remainder of their essay can be built. Some frames may require minor modifications so that they are ready for use in this essays. For example:

Imagine that _____ [independent clause].

This is a critical problem because _____ [independent clause].

By _____ [gerund], _____ [name of innovator] _____ [verb phrase].

For added visual support during Work Time A, distribute simple graphic organizers that reflect a problem-solution structure and invite students who need heavier support to use keywords or short phrases to represent their ideas on the graphic organizer before transferring them over to the Problem-Solution Writing Planner: Research. A visual representation of their researched problem and its solution may help ELLs solidify their ideas.

A. Peer Critique: Problem-Solution Writing Planner - SL.6.1 (10 minutes)

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

"I can give kind, helpful, and specific feedback to my partner."

• Display and focus students on their Informative Writing checklist.

• Focus students on the criteria:

"W.6.2a: I provide a clear focus and maintain the focus consistently throughout the piece."

• Invite students to mark or highlight this criterion, as it will be the focus of the critique. Explain that, due to time constraints, their goal in today's peer critique is to focus and give feedback on just this one standard.

• 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 stairs 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.

• 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.

• Invite students to provide feedback to their partner based on the criteria identified from the Informative Writing checklist.

• Circulate to support students as they work together to give feedback to one another. Emphasize that students should not make revisions yet.

• 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.

• If productive, cue students to consider their thinking:

"How does our peer critique add to your understanding of planning for informational writing? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.)