A. Engage the Learner – W.7.1 (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 and the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 ▲ as necessary.

• Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use equity sticks to review their responses.

• 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 

In Opening A, ensure students understand that the purpose of the QuickWrite is to generate an argument with claim, evidence, and reasoning in preparation for the debate in the following lesson. They should focus on their ideas, not their spelling, punctuation, or grammar. However, students may need additional time to process and articulate their ideas.

In Opening A, allow students to respond to the prompt in the modality that best suits them. They may want to record their responses in writing or practice their oral responses with a partner before sharing them out. They may want to share their responses in their home language. Allowing students to respond in multiple ways increases their confidence and success in articulating their ideas.

Also, as necessary, provide the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 ▲. This resource features sentence starters which support students with comprehension and writing. 

A. Read and Compare Evidence - RI.7.9 (15 minutes)

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

"I can compare how two authors emphasize different evidence when presenting information on plastic pollution."

• Distribute the Compare Text Evidence handout. Review the directions to ensure students understand the task. Explain that students will answer similar questions on their mid-unit assessment in the following lesson.

• Ask students to answer the questions independently. When students are done, use a total participation technique to review their responses, recording them on a displayed copy of Compare Text Evidence questions. For answers, see Compare Text Evidence (answers for teacher reference).

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

For Work Time A, explain to students that completing the analysis and note-catcher independently will prepare them for doing so on their assessment in the following lesson. Remind students that they have completed similar analysis and note-catchers throughout the unit and are prepared for this challenge.

At the end of Work Time A, collect students' questions in order to review them as a formative assessment to ensure students are ready for the mid-unit assessment in the following lesson. If not, spend another lesson on analyzing the authors' use of evidence.

A. Practice Debate - SL.7.3, SL.7.4 (25 minutes)

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

"I can delineate and evaluate a speaker's claims about plastic pollution."

"I can present my claims about plastic pollution in a clear way, supported by evidence."

• Display the Debate Steps anchor chart and remind students of the steps the class has taken so far in this debate. In Lesson 1, students worked on cross-examining the beginning position. In Lesson 2, students worked on stating the middle position or cross-examining it. In Lesson 3, students worked on presenting rebuttals and summaries of the beginning and middle positions. Now, in Lesson 4, students will present the argument that the end of the plastic life cycle is the best place to impact change, working on all three steps of the debate as a small group.

• Invite students to move into predetermined debate groups of four. Guide students to choose one of the four roles: position presenter, cross-examiner, responder, or summarizer. Support students with forming groups and assigning roles efficiently, in less than a minute. As necessary, use the Practice Debate Planner (for teacher reference) to help students form groups and determine roles.

• Direct students to independently write notes for their specified role on the End of Debate note-catcher. Students should draw on the texts from Module 4, Units 1 and 2 for evidence. Then, direct students to practice their roles and statements within their group in this order:

1. 1. Position Presenter

   2. Cross-Examiner

   3. Responder

   4. Summarizer

• Remind students to use formal presentation skills, sharing ideas with appropriate eye contact, appropriate volume, and clarity. Circulate to ensure students are on task and each make their part of the debate presentation. Consult the End of Debate note-catcher (example for teacher reference) for possible responses.

• Once students have finished their debate practice, consult the Final Debate Planner (for teacher reference) to give students their assigned position and roles for the final debate. Remind students that it may be necessary to share roles (like cross-examiner or responder) or to assume roles or defend positions that were not their first choice in order to have even numbers for the formal debate.

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

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS  

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from the article "Boyan Slat: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Kid." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Invite students 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.

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive using a sentence from the article "Boyan Slat: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Kid." Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Encourage students to independently reflect on this sentence and its meaning before the next lesson. Students may also wish to use dictionaries to add any unknown vocabulary and meanings to their vocabulary logs.