A. Engage the Learner - RI.7.1 (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: Students respond to the discussion prompts on Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 1.

• Once students have completed their entrance tickets, display the Performance Task anchor chart, and ask students to Think-Pair-Share about additional criteria they must include in their documentary to make it effective and to follow the directions. Record student responses on the chart. Inform students that today they will analyze a model documentary in order to develop criteria for their own documentary. Later in the lesson, students will work in triads to brainstorm their action plans and develop ideas for their documentary.

• 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 

Students may be overwhelmed by the amount of text on the entrance ticket. Before reading, ask students to draw on their previous experience to Think-Pair-Share about what they recall about the performance task for this module. Then allow extra time for students to read and respond to the entrance ticket prompts.

See For Lighter Support. Additionally, allow students who require heavier supports to read and respond to the entrance ticket in pairs. As necessary, draw together a small group of students to read aloud the entrance ticket and model responding to the prompts.

A. Review Documentary Techniques – RI.7.7 (10 minutes)

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

“I can explore a model documentary and generate ideas for my own documentary clip.”

• Inform students that they will now rewatch a clip from A Plastic Ocean to review documentary techniques. Display the Techniques anchor chart, and ask students to recall their work in Unit 1 analyzing the video techniques that make documentaries effective.

• Display and distribute the Analyze a Model Documentary note-catcher, and explain that students will use this note-catcher to take notes on the clip from A Plastic Ocean.

• On the device, play the documentary clip and ask students to use their note-catcher to Think-Write-Pair-Share about the filmmaking techniques they identified in this clip. (There are several images of Craig trying and failing to get food without plastic, voice-over, music, text to introduce the speakers and places, and graphics to illustrate straws in the ocean.)

• As students share, record student responses on the displayed copy of the Analyze a Model Documentary note-catcher in order to support visual learners. ▲ Consult the Analyze a Model Documentary note-catcher (example for teacher reference).

• Play the clip again and ask students to use their note-catcher to Think-Write-Pair-Share about these questions:

“How do you think the filmmakers did and didn’t use a script to plan and prepare for this clip? What words and dialogue could the filmmakers plan for and which couldn’t they plan for?” (The filmmakers likely used a script for their voice-over narration. Greg most likely planned on asking people at restaurants for different containers from plastic, but he couldn’t have scripted those parts because he didn’t know what the other people would say.)

• As necessary to support visual learners, record student responses on the displayed copy of the Analyze a Model Documentary note-catcher. ▲ Consult the Analyze a Model Documentary note-catcher (example for teacher reference).

• Ensure that students understand that not all parts of a documentary are scripted. As in this clip, filmmakers often choose to interview subjects or engage in discussions with people in the community. While filmmakers often plan their questions in advance, these conversations in the transcript were recorded on the spot, not written out ahead of time. Students will explore this idea further in analyzing a documentary script and planning and drafting their own scripts.

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Work Time A, consider whether students would benefit from multiple viewings of the video clip and/or the English subtitles displayed while they view. These supports ensure students can focus on techniques rather than content.

B. Analyze a Model Documentary Script - SL.7.4 (25 minutes)

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

"I can determine the purpose and content of an effective documentary script about plastic pollution."

• Explain to students that today they will begin to plan a script to use as the basis for their documentary clip. Display and distribute the Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic." Explain that, as in the model script, they will write in first person, I, because such a personal viewpoint will help to show that individuals can take action and make a difference. Some groups may decide to write in the first person plural, using we instead of I to describe their actions. Read the model aloud as students follow along.

• Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What is this script about?" (It is about how one person realizes how much plastic she is using and decides to stop using plastic for takeout food.)

• Inform students that the class will work together to identify the purpose, techniques, and information given in the first section of the script. Then students will join with others to discuss the purpose and techniques in the other sections of the script. Note the spaces where students can record notes on their copies of the Model Documentary Script.

• As a class, reread the narrative lead and determine the purpose, techniques, and information given, recording responses on the displayed copy of the Model Documentary Script together, so that students have a model for determining the purpose of the other three sections of the documentary script. (Purpose: to engage the viewer and introduce the problem; Techniques and information: using narration, a story, to engage the viewer and introduce the problem.) For sample responses, see the Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" (example for teacher reference).

• Then, ask students to brainstorm as a class about which filmmaking techniques could be used to turn the script into a documentary, recording their ideas in the next box on the model script. (Possible responses: the image of a plastic bag in a river, a shot of a person near a river seeing the plastic bag, voice-over narration, music to create a tense mood.) Consult the Model Documentary Script: "Lunch, Hold the Plastic" (example for teacher reference) for sample answers as necessary.

• Explain to students that there are no definite correct answers but that they should use the knowledge they gained from analyzing A Plastic Ocean to think about techniques documentary film creators use.

• Ask students to form small groups to reread the rest of the script and determine the purpose, techniques, and information of the other three sections.

• Use a total participation technique for students to share their answers. To support visual learners, record student responses in the notes of the displayed Model Documentary Script. Consult the Model Documentary Script (example for teacher reference) for sample answers as necessary.

• If mindset and habits of character are not mentioned, ask students to Think-Group-Share:

"What habits of character did you see in this script? Who demonstrated them? What did they look/sound like?" (Answers will vary, but may include: The narrator of the documentary shows initiative and perseverance in deciding to stop using plastic to carry her food. She also helps to make a better world by taking an action to reduce plastic pollution.)

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Work Time B, encourage students to record the gist of each section in the margins of the Model Documentary Script. They can share these gists with classmates who need heavier support and together they can highlight the key ideas in the script. This partner work ensures comprehension and recall of the key details of the script. 

Also, during Work Time B, challenge students as they read the Model Documentary Script to identify and explain language structures from Language Dives throughout the module, such as modifying phrases and coordinate adjectives. They can share these examples with their classmates who need heavier support, identifying the nouns that these phrases or adjectives modify. Reviewing language structures in new contexts ensures mastery.

After Work Time B, invite students to participate in a Mini Language Dive in small groups to explore a sentence containing an idea that clarifies evidence to support a main claim in a documentary script. The sentence also provides an opportunity for students to examine how declarative language (It is clear) followed by a that-clause is used to clarify evidence to support a main claim.

During Work Time B, encourage students to record illustrations in the margins of the Model Documentary Script. They can share these illustrations with classmates who need lighter support and together they can highlight the key ideas in the script. This partner work ensures comprehension and recall of the key details of the script.

Also, as necessary, draw a group of students together to model identifying the author's purpose and writing elements in the first two parts of the Model Documentary Script to gradually release students to work in small groups to identify the author's purpose and writing elements in the second half of the script. The gradual release allows students to learn and then practice the skill of identifying author's purpose.

A. Form Documentary Triads - SL.7.1 (10 minutes)

• Display and distribute Exit Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 1. Invite a volunteer to read the exit ticket aloud. Inform students that they will engage in an activity to form documentary triads to have a collaborative discussion about ways of reducing plastic pollution that interest them. (See Teaching Notes for suggestions on forming strategic triads.) Display and review the Discussion Norms anchor chart as necessary. Remind students about the character traits of kindness, compassion, and respect with regard to compromising with groupmates.

• Post signs or designate different areas of the room to be the stations for different Action Plans students can create and follow in their documentaries. The four suggested categories are:

  • Personal Decisions (using less plastic, recycling more)

  • Communication with Officials (contacting local, state, or federal government to ask for changes to the laws)

  • Invention or Research (researching new materials, processes, or devices for replacing plastic, recycling it, disposing of it, or cleaning it up more efficiently)

  • Other (other ideas for actions that students may generate)

• Explain to students that they will form groups based on their interest in one of these four action plan categories. Invite students to go to the station that interests them and form triads with others interested in similar action plans. Students may need guidance in forming triads if numbers or interests are not aligned.

• Provide students with several minutes to talk in triads about an action plan that interests them. Remind students of respect as they discuss their ideas and compromise to develop an action plan that interests all students in their triad. Explain that students will continue to discuss and solidify their plans over the next couple of lessons. Instruct students to use the prompts on their exit tickets to help guide their discussions. Circulate to assist students in compromising. Explain that each triad should turn in one exit ticket. Use the sample responses on Exit Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 1 (example for teacher reference) to explain how students could combine their individual action plans into a triad action plan in their documentary clip script.

• After 5 minutes, inform students that they must choose an action plan. Remind students that although they are taking personal actions outside of class, and will be tracking their progress on these actions, they will need to coordinate with the other members of their triads to ensure that each triad member's action plan can be used in their scripts, storyboards, and video clips. Students can work together on the same action in a category, such as collecting recycling, or divide up different actions within the same category, such as writing letters to different officials. Using a total participation response, invite students to share their action plans and how they will combine them. For examples, see Exit Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 1 (example for teacher reference).

• 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 

Ensure students understand both the activity of voting for a personal action plan by moving to one of the four corners as well as what each action plan entails. Explain the activity and action plans, then ask students to Turn and Talk to review them with a partner. Circulate to identify and correct any misconceptions. Having students reiterate the directions will ensure they can participate fully in the activity. 

See For Lighter Support. Additionally, use modeling, and think-alouds such as: If you are interested in trying to recycle, reduce, or reuse more in your own life, your own house, move to this corner. If you are interested in researching or reading more about an invention to help with plastic pollution, move to this corner. Etc. Once students understand the activity, they can participate fully in it.