A. Engage the Learner – W.6.10 (5 minutes)

• Distribute Hidden Figures (Young Readers’ Edition). Students will need the text to complete the entrance ticket.

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as in previous lessons to distribute and review the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 or the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 ▲. Refer to the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 (example for teacher reference) for possible responses.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

As an extension to the entrance ticket, generate additional activities for students who need lighter support to engage with the features of the new anchor text. Some examples of these activities are described below:

Invite students to read the chapter titles presented in the table of contents. Students can discuss or write down their predictions for the central ideas of the text, based on the information embedded in the chapter titles.

Invite students to review the glossary, which begins on page 204. Students can mark unknown words for further study and/or practice restating the words’ definitions in their own words.

Invite students to examine the Timeline of Important Historical Events, which begins on page 199. Students can reflect on what they know about familiar events in the timeline, and put stars next to events they would like to learn more about.

• Ask:

“How might you read an informational text like this one differently than you would a literary text, like Two Roads?” (Responses will vary, but may include: I may skip around more, referencing the glossary or timeline as needed to better understand what I’m reading.)

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as in 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 previous lessons. Invite students to choose a habit of character focus for themselves for this lesson.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

During Opening A, invite students who need heavier support to use the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 ▲. This resource features sample text features and sentence starters that help students answer the question on the ticket.

A. Read Hidden Figures, Prologue and Chapter 1 – RI.6.6 (10 minutes)

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

“I can determine the author’s purpose and point of view and how it is conveyed in the prologue and chapter 1 of Hidden Figures.”

• Invite students to turn to page 1 in their texts. As students read along silently, read aloud pages 1–9. 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.

• Read aloud the selected excerpt, using the Text Guide: Hidden Figures (Young Readers’ Edition) (for teacher reference) for comprehension and vocabulary questions as needed.

• Invite a student to paraphrase the key points in more comprehensible language for those who need heavier support. ▲

• Use the Synopsis: Hidden Figures, Prologue and Chapter 1 to review and note key details for these sections of the text. This will help to complete students’ understanding of the events, especially if they are not able to finish all of the reading.

• Think-Pair-Share:

“What is the gist of the prologue?” (The African American women mathematicians working at NASA from the 1940s to the 1970s deserve to be recognized.)

“What is the author’s purpose for writing this book based on what you read in the prologue?” (The author’s purpose is to inform readers about the remarkable accomplishments of these four women and all of the African American women employed at NASA. These hidden figures had not received the recognition they deserved for their talent and contributions to space science.)

“What is the gist of chapter 1?” (Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were mathematicians at NACA during a time in US history when African American women did not get certain jobs because of racial discrimination.)

• Record this on the Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart. Distribute sticky notes for students to record the gist and place in their texts. Refer to the Gists: Hidden Figures anchor chart (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. ▲

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

B. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face - RI.6.6 (10 minutes)

• Prepare students to engage in the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol. Remind students that they have completed this protocol before. Cold-call students to review the steps of the protocol (students face away from their partners as they listen to a question; students turn around when the signal is given and take turns sharing their response and actively listening to their partner's response). After each question, students will move back-to-back with a different partner.

• Move students into partners. Direct students to turn back-to-back with their partner. Let students know that they can refer to their texts to answer questions during the protocol. Display the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Prompts: Hidden Figures, Prologue and Chapter 1 resource one question at a time to provide visual support during the protocol.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

During Work Time B, as students participate in the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol, use strategic combinations of Conversation Cues to help students think with others to expand the conversation:

"Can you repeat what your classmate said in your own words?" (Goal 2)

"Can you explain why your classmate came up with that response?" (Goal 4)

"Can you add on to what your classmate said?" (Goal 4)

• Face-to-face:

"What are some experiences and/or attributes that Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, and Christine have in common?" (Responses will vary, but may include: they all showed special talent in math as children and studied math in college, they all worked as teachers, they were all pioneers in their field, and they were all black women working in an environment that had historically excluded black women.)

• Direct students to quickly move to a new partner, and turn back-to-back.

• Face-to-face:

"Why do you think these women are called hidden figures?" (Responses will vary, but may include: they made very important professional and scientific contributions while at NACA/NASA, but they never received much recognition for it; their names and stories are generally unfamiliar.)

• Direct students to quickly move to a new partner, and turn back-to-back.

• Face-to-face:

"What habits of character are evident in the descriptions of Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, and Christine?" (Respponses will vary, but may include: the descriptions of Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, and Christine show perseverance because they bravely faced impossibly challenging situations; they also used their strengths to help others grow, contributing to a better world.)

• Face-to-face:

"Why were the accomplishments of these women especially remarkable for their time?" (Responses will vary, but may include: they excelled at NASA during a time of rampant discrimination against black people; at that time, women were not generally offered jobs in math and science; they produced groundbreaking work that would lead to major advancements in space science.)

• Direct students to quickly move to a new partner and turn back-to-back.

• Face-to-face:

"What is the author's point of view toward these women?" (Responses will vary, but may include: The author is admiring of these women. She thinks they were highly skilled, brave, and strong. She thinks they have not received enough recognition.)

• Direct students to quickly move to a new partner and turn back-to-back.

• Face-to-face:

"What words or phrases does the author use to convey her point of view in these sections of the text?" (Responses will vary, but may include: deserve to be remembered (2-3); center of their own story (3); important part of American history (3); showed special skill (5); groundbreaking research (6); even more impressive (7).)

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

During Work Time B, as students participate in the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol, use strategic combinations of Conversation Cues to help students listen carefully to one another and be understood:

"Can you say more about that?" (Goal 1)

"Can you give an example?" (Goal 1)

"Can you repeat what your partner said?"

(Goal 2)

"Do you agree or disagree with what your partner said? Why?" (Goal 4)

• Refocus whole group.

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

C. Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 – RI.6.4, RI.6.6 (15 minutes)

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

“I can analyze the connotative meanings of words as they are used in Hidden Figures.”

• Tell students they will now participate in a Language Dive to analyze a sentence from the prologue of Hidden Figures. This sentence helps students to determine the author’s point of view in the prologue and chapter 1 of Hidden Figures.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

As an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time C, and to reinforce work with L.6.2a, provide students who need lighter support with sentences from the text that use dashes. From these examples, students can extract more general rules about the use of dashes (e.g., when they’re used, what they signal, where in a sentence they can be found). This work will support students in later lessons in the module, when they begin to more formally study the role of dashes, commas, and parentheses to offset nonrestrictive information. Some sentences that can be used during this activity are listed below:

“She helped do the math that was required to send the first men into space—and to bring them home safely” (6).

“A few years earlier, an ad like this would have been unthinkable—most employers never would have considered a woman for a job that had always been performed by a man” (10).

“The applications were not supposed to consider race—a recent law had done away with the requirement that the application must include a photo—but it wasn’t hard for employers to figure out which job candidates were black” (15).

“Bulletins listing civil service jobs—nonmilitary government jobs—plastered the walls at local post offices” (23).

• Refer to the Questions We Can Ask during a Language Dive anchor chart, and ensure students understand how to use these questions, pointing out that the questions underlined on the anchor chart are questions that students should always ask when they dive into a sentence.

• Tell students they will now begin the Language Dive. Reread pages 2–3, starting at “The first five women were hired at Langley as computers in 1935 . . .” on page 2 and ending at “This is their story” on page 3.

• Focus students on the sentence:

  • “The contributions made by these African-American women have never been heralded, but they deserve to be remembered—and not as a side note in someone else’s account, but as the center of their own story.”

• Use the Language Dive Guide: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 (for teacher reference) and the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 Sentence Chunk Chart (for teacher reference) to guide students through a Language Dive conversation about the sentence. Distribute and display the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 note-catcher and the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 sentence chunk strips. Refer to the Language Dive: Hidden Figures, Pages 2–3 note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

As an extension to the Language Dive of Work Time C, and to reinforce work with L.6.2a, provide students who need heavier support with sentences from the text that use dashes. Students can practice reading these sentences aloud to one another, pausing appropriately at each dash. Support students during this activity to ensure that they are using appropriate pauses and intonation. Some sentences that can be used during this activity are listed below:

“She helped do the math that was required to send the first men into space—and to bring them home safely” (6).

“Hiring black mathematicians—that was something new” (15).

“They earned forty cents an hour—among the lowest wages of all war workers—but for women with few employment options, even that modest sum felt like a windfall” (19).

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

A. Introduce Remarkable Accomplishments Anchor Chart - L.6.4d (5 minutes)

• Display the Remarkable Accomplishments anchor chart. Remind students that in chapter 1 of Hidden Figures, the author makes the claim that "The accomplishments of these four women were remarkable."

• Ask:

"What does remarkable mean?" (Responses will vary, but may include: amazing, extraordinary, and awesome.)

• Invite one student to verify the preliminary definition of remarkable in a print or online dictionary. Add remarkable to the academic word wall, and invite students to add it to their vocabulary logs.

• Explain that, as students read the anchor text, they will be collecting examples of the hidden figures' remarkable accomplishments.

• Guide students to fill in one example in the Dorothy Vaughan section of the anchor chart based on their reading in chapter 1.

• Say:

"On page 6, the author writes that Vaughan was one of the first African American women to be hired by NACA as a computer. Let's list this in the left-hand column as an example of a remarkable accomplishment."

• Turn and Talk:

"What makes this accomplishment remarkable?" (This is remarkable because racial discrimination was common, limiting, and oppressive at the time. Dorothy persevered and did so without many other role models because she was one of the first to be hired.)

• Add this reasoning to the right-hand column of the anchor chart. Explain that students will add to the chart continually throughout the unit. Refer to Remarkable Accomplishments anchor chart (example for teacher reference).

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