A. Engage the Learner - W.8.8 (10 minutes)

• Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 2.

• 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 or the same as previous lessons.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

After students complete the entrance ticket, build in time for students to discuss the credibility of the text. Model and display Conversation Cues with useful responses that students can use to help guide the discussion:

"Can you say more about that?" ("Sure. I think that _____.")

"Can you give an example?" ("OK. One example is _____.")

A. Mini Lesson: Continue Research - W.8.7 (10 minutes)

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

"I can conduct research to answer a question about how GMOs influence our access to healthy food."

• Remind students of the Researchers Do These Things anchor chart, and read through the steps listed.

• Inform students that based on their research in the previous lesson, research mini lessons have been selected to address their specific research needs to help them be more effective researchers. Use Research Mini Lessons (for teacher reference), from a previous lesson, based on students' needs.

• Release those students who are proficient in the research process to begin researching independently.

B. Research GMOs – W.8.8 (20 minutes)

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

“I can conduct research to answer a question about how GMOs influence our access to healthy food.”

• Invite students to return to the pairs they worked in for the previous lesson. Inform students that they will continue their research to answer the central research question:

  • “How do GMOs influence our access to healthy food?”

• Display the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart.

• Ask:

“After conducting research with your partner, what other additional related focus questions can you generate to further your research? (Responses will vary, but may include: What might happen with GMOs in the future? Why don’t we have more information about GMOs?)

• As students share, capture their responses on the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart. Although students are engaged in independent research and the content might vary based on sources, refer to the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for expected answers to the most relevant related questions about the topic.

• Invite students to retrieve the following materials from Lesson 2: Researcher’s Toolbox and Access to Healthy Food Research: GMOs note-catcher. Before they start researching again, ask them to review their note-catcher to see which questions they have answered and which generated questions from this lesson they would like to research. Also, ask students to consider whether they need to refine any of their questions, find a new source, or finish reading and taking notes on a source from the previous lesson.

• Allow students a few minutes to review their notes, and then have them Turn and Talk to share their plan for researching. Use a Thumb-O-Meter to assess who needs help researching.

• Distribute devices for students to conduct their research.

• Remind students to gather their evidence, sources, and research findings in their Access to Healthy Food Research: GMOs note-catcher as they track how GMOs influence our access to healthy food.

• Circulate and support students. Depending on needs, pair students or draw them into a small group to assist them, using the suggestions in Research Mini Lessons (for teacher reference). If many students need support, group them by steps in the research process (e.g., groups of students working together to cite sources, take notes, and find and evaluate new sources). ▲ Identify common issues to inform the research mini lessons students might need in the independent research lessons.

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

A. Partner Share (5 minutes)

• Refocus the whole class.

• Refer to the Access to Healthy Food Research: GMOs note-catcher.

• Instruct pairs to review their note-catcher and their research findings on how GMOs increase and decrease our access to healthy food. Ask pairs to share their research findings with the class.

• Direct students' attention to the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart.

• Ask:

"What relevant data can you quote or paraphrase that you found to answer the questions we generated as a class?" (Responses will vary, but may include: New genes in some corn make it harder for harmful insects to survive.; The New York Times reported in 2018 about a GMO called EnlistDuo. It is supposed to make crop plants more resistant to weed-killing chemicals. However, it has been found to increase the prevalence of a cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma.)

• As students share, capture their responses on the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart. Although students are engaged in independent research and the content might vary based on sources, refer to the Additional Focus Questions: GMOs anchor chart (for teacher reference) for expected answers to the most relevant related questions about the topic in the early stages of research.

• Explain that in the next lesson, students will independently explore several other case studies of our access to healthy food.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Closing and Assessment A, use the discussion of relevant data as an opportunity for further practice with paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing. Invite a student to share a piece of evidence he/she found, and then have students work in small groups to provide a quote, paraphrase, and short summary of this evidence. As a class, compare each group's work, and identify steps and stars. This will help ELLs continue to build understanding of the differences between these three skills as well as enable them to gain further practice in carrying each one out and receive feedback on their work with each concept.

During Closing and Assessment A, use the discussion of relevant data as an opportunity to build students' understanding of the differences between paraphrasing and summarizing. To support ELLs in building these skills, use the following process:

Engage students in a short discussion of the differences between their paraphrases and summaries.

Invite students to find a short (one-paragraph) excerpt from an online resource about GMOs written in their home language.

Ask students to orally paraphrase the information (i.e., provide the same information without synthesis).

Invite students to orally summarize the information in one sentence (i.e., capture the main idea).

Invite students to write a paraphrase of the short excerpt in their home language.

Invite students to write a one-sentence summary of the excerpt in their home language.

Invite students to repeat the steps above in English.

This sequence can help students to engage more deeply with the skills of paraphrasing and summarizing by minimizing linguistic interference. Furthermore, allowing students to process orally before capturing their thinking in writing will help them to work through the content and concepts they are working with before navigating the additional linguistic demands of producing written language.