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

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review the Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8. Students will also need their anchor text, Two Roads. Refer to the Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8 (answer for teacher reference) for possible responses.

• Focus students on this sentence from the excerpt: "Why, if life at Indian boarding school was so draconian, would Jim Thorpe in real life and Will Blackbird in my novel deliberately send their sons to an Indian boarding school?"

• Point students to the word deliberately.

• Ask:

"What does deliberately mean? What context clues help us to understand this word?" (Deliberately means intentionally or purposely. The context helps because it first explains all the bad things about the boarding schools and then gives two examples of fathers who sent their sons there anyway. The author also uses words like "yet" and "even though" to show a contrast between Thorpe and Blackbird's choice and what was described in the previous sentence: "taken by force.")

• Add deliberately to the academic word wall while students add it to their vocabulary logs.

• 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 to or the same as previous lessons. Invite students to choose a habit of character focus for themselves for this lesson.

A. Read Two Roads, Chapter 9 – RL.6.1 (20 minutes)

• Invite students to turn to chapter 9, page 103, in their text. Explain that chapters 6–8 will not be read in class, and skipping them will not impede students’ comprehension of the novel. Encourage students to read these chapters outside of class, if possible.

• Read aloud chapter 9 as students read along silently. Note that one excerpt from this chapter will be omitted due to the sensitive nature of the content. Skip pages 108–109 from "He pauses . . . " to " . . . hand over his face." 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.

• Use the Text Guide: Two Roads for comprehension and vocabulary questions as needed.

• Use Synopsis: Two Roads, Chapter 9 to review and note key details for this chapter. This will help to complete students’ understanding of the events, especially if they are not able to complete all of the reading.

• Think-Pair-Share:

“What is the gist of chapter 9?” (Pop shares some of his memories of Indian boarding school —some good, some bad. He hopes that the school will have improved since the publication of the Meriam Report.)

• Record this on the Gist anchor chart: Two Roads. Distribute sticky notes for students to record their gist statement and place in their texts. Refer to the Gist anchor chart: Two Roads (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

• 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. ▲

• Invite students to reflect on the chapter through the lens of habits of character.

• Turn and Talk:

“What habits of character are displayed by the characters in this chapter?” (Answers will vary, but may include: Pop shows compassion towards Cal when he reassures Cal that he will be fine at school, giving Cal advice and filling him in on what to expect.)

• Direct students back to page 107 of their anchor text. Reread from page 107, starting at “‘I doubt it’s that bad. . .” and ending on page 108 at “‘. . . the Meriam Report said.’”

• Turn and Talk:

“How does our reading of the actual Meriam Report add to our understanding of this excerpt from the text?” (We now have the background information we need to understand the references that Pop is making.)

“What is Pop’s point of view toward the Meriam Report?” (He assumes that it will have made a difference at American Indian boarding schools because it highlighted the awful conditions of the schools.)

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

B. Analyze Point of View - RL.6.6 (15 minutes)

• Remind students that over the past several lessons, they have been analyzing an author's point of view demonstrated in an informational text. Now, they will apply that same skill to the anchor text. Remind students that they have done this work before in Module 1 when they read The Lightning Thief.

• Distribute and display the Analyze Point of View: Two Roads note-catcher. Read the directions and column headings. Point out that the mnemonic Read-Collect-Connect, indicated in the column headings, can be used to help students remember the steps for determining a character's point of view and analyze how it was developed by the author. Invite students to create hand motions for each to ingrain the steps.

• Explain that the class will work collaboratively to fill in the first row of the note-catcher. In the READ column, point out that the chapter number (9) and the name of the character whose point of view they will analyze (Pop) are already included.

• Distribute sticky notes, one per student.

• State aloud the question for which they need to collect evidence from this chapter:

"What is Pop's point of view towards Challagi Indian Industrial School?"

• Explain that this chapter contains several pieces of information that could answer this question. Each student is only required to collect one piece of evidence and record it on their sticky notes. Students should not include their name on the sticky note. Select three students to be the "Roving Reporters" who refrain from recording evidence at this stage. Explain that to rove means to wander or roam.

• Invite all other students to begin collecting their one piece of evidence. As they finish filling in their sticky note, they should stick it to the board or another prominently displayed area of the classroom. Direct the Roving Reporters to roam around the board reading each of the sticky notes silently and looking for the strongest three pieces of evidence that answer the prompt.

• Once the Roving Reporters have made their selections, direct them to read them aloud. Then, add the evidence to the displayed Analyze Point of View: Two Roads note-catcher, and direct students to do the same.

• Focus students on the Author's Methods anchor chart. Remind students that writers use various methods to develop characters and their point of view in a text. Guide students to notice that, in this chapter, the main way the author developed Pop's point of view was through his dialogue. Add this to the COLLECT column of the note-catcher.

• Focus students on the final column of the note-catcher. Think-Pair-Share:

"Connect all of this evidence together. What is Pop's point of view towards Challagi?"

• Circulate and aid students in condensing their responses into a succinct statement. Add this statement in the CONNECT column of the displayed Analyze Point of View: Two Roads note-catcher, and direct students to do the same. Refer to the Analyze Point of View: Two Roads note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

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

A. QuickWrite: Pop's Point of View - RL.6.6 (5 minutes)

• Distribute the QuickWrite: Pop's Point of View handout.

• Read aloud the prompt:

  • "Why would Pop deliberately send Cal to an American Indian boarding school? How does his point of view toward the school explain his decision?"

• Remind students that they already determined the meaning of the word deliberately (intentionally; purposely), and it is used again in the prompt.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from chapter 11 of Two Roads. Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Invite students who need lighter support to predict some of the questions that the Language Dive may ask. This will improve students' metacognition and challenge their awareness of the most interesting or meaningful elements of the sentence.

• Direct students to retrieve their anchor text, and turn to page 318 in the Afterword.

• Read the first two paragraphs on page 318 aloud as students follow along, starting at "Some already knew. . ." and ending at ". . . could hear them."

• Pause and invite students to begin writing.

• With one minute left, refocus students. Collect the QuickWrite: Pop's Point of View, and review it later for misconceptions that need to be addressed. Refer to QuickWrite: Pop's Point of View (example for teacher reference) as needed.

• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their habit of character focus for this lesson.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from chapter 11 of Two Roads. Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Encourage students who need heavier support to independently reflect on this sentence and its meaning before the next lesson. Students may also wish to add any unknown vocabulary to their vocabulary logs (e.g., throbbing; knotted; rope).