Language Arts: Week of Oct 27 - 31, Lesson 5, The Hamburger Model of Persuasive Writing

Teacher/Grade: Ms. Gene – 6^th

Subject: Language Arts

Persuasion – Lesson 5, The Hamburger Model of Persuasive Writing

What we will learn (objectives):

Introduce persuasive writing through the use of the Hamburger Model

What we will read or study (content):

Why You Should Become a Vegetarian

Hamburger Model of Persuasive Writing

Jumbled Paragraph

How we will study it (process):

Monday, Oct 27 and Tuesday, Oct 28

Gifted Ed teacher will handout “Why You Should Become a Vegetarian” and have class read as whole group. Explain that writing is one way that you can persuade/be persuaded.

Gifted Ed teacher will share the Hamburger Model and have students compare the vegetarian piece to the model, making an actual “paper hamburger” with the correct quotes from the vegetarian piece. Gifted Ed teacher will provide paper and scissors. Gifted Ed and Regular Ed teachers will monitor progress.

When students have completed their “hamburgers” the following questions will be used to guide the discussion led by the Gifted Ed teacher: What is the top bun? What is the writer’s meat? How many reasons does the author provide? What are the “fixins”/details to the paragraph? What is the bottom bun? Regular Ed teacher will monitor.

Wed, Oct 29

Regular Ed teacher will have teams complete the Jumbled Paragraph using the Hamburger Model. Label each section. Share as class. Consider “clue words”. Have students suggest ways the paragraph could be more convincing and add those pieces. Gifted Ed teacher will monitor.

Thurs, Oct 30

Regular Ed and Gifted Ed teachers will monitor the partner groups as they write a Hamburger paragraph arguing a point of view about whether students should receive awards for good grades in school. As teams finish, the Gifted Ed teacher will make a copy as an answer key and give the original to another group to put back into correct order. Have new group label the pieces (top bun, meat, etc.) Share with class and check with answer key.

This group will make suggestions on how to improve the paragraph and add those pieces.

Friday, Oct 31

CBM:

The student govt. has been given $500 to do something to benefit the school. Take a point of view on how you think the money should be spent and write a Hamburger paragraph defending your opinion.

Extension (if resources are available)

Introduce the Writing Computer Center. Students will have opportunity to practice the stages of writing and the format of the persuasive paragraph. Have a list of suggested writing topics. Students will compose paragraphs, work in pairs to critique one another’s work, revise, edit and publish work.

How we will know we learned something (product):

Jumbled Paragraph

Point of view: Awards for Good Grades

Jumbled Paragraph – Awards for Good Grades

Language Arts: Week of October 13 - 24, Lesson 4, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Idea of Persuasion

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Lesson 4, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Idea of Persuasion

What we will learn (objectives):
Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature
Develop an understanding of persuasion

What we will read or study (content):
Selection from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

How we will study it (process):
Monday, Oct 13
Review classroom norms, rules and expectations

Tuesday, Oct 14
Students will read selection from Tom Sawyer and then complete a literature web. Discuss webs as a class.

Wednesday, Oct 15
Each team will then choose one question from the Literary Response and Interpretation questions, Reasoning Questions and Change Questions (see flash cards, Lesson 4). The team will present their answers.

Thursday, Oct 16
Discuss Persuasion as a class. Each team will brainstorm ideas about persuasion and discuss with the class. One student will read the definition. Compare to list.


Friday, Oct 17 - Wed, Oct 22
Students will list chores they are responsible for at home. Each student will choose one and write a one-minute speech to persuade another classmate to do the chore, following the guidelines. Use note cards to prep.
Students will give speech using note cards. After students are done, have students vote as to whether they would do the chore, why or why not.
Gifted Ed teacher: will be administering GATE assessments Tuesday, Oct 21 - Thursday, Oct 23

Thursday, Oct 23
Students will then work in teams to complete a vocab web using words from the Tom Sawyer selection.

Friday, Oct 24
CBM:
Give the following sentence from the chapter:
Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life.
Students will id the part of speech of the underlined word and tell its function in the sentence.

In Response Journal, have students answer one of the questions (see mini-poster)


Play the game Persuade. In this game, each group of 6 students receives a set of “audience,” “audience background” and “persuasion goal” cards. To begin, a set of cards is drawn and the audience role plays according to the “audience” and “audience background” directions. The persuader then delivers a 4-minute speech to persuade the audience. Following the speech, the audience has 3 minutes to ask questions. At the conclusion of each round, participants rate the speaker using scoring sheets.



How we will know we learned something (product):
Lit web
Vocab web
Speech
Discussion question presentation/worksheet

Homework:
Continue with independent reading and writing assignment from Lesson 1. The discussion of the Asain-American books will take place in Lesson 7.

Extension:
Read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Make a chart showing how the characters change over the course of the novel.


Mini-Poster:
Have you ever outwitted someone? Describe the occasion and how you managed to fool another person.

What are some tasks you enjoy doing that others might think of as work? What are some things you think of as work which might seem like play to someone else?

Fall Break: Week of October 6 - 10

No class!

Social Studies: Culminating Activity

Students will create a map from their home to the school, with an overlay. They will choose two of three different maps to complete.

Language Arts: Week of Sept 29 - Oct 3, Lesson 3, cont.

Classroom teacher is continuing the grammer/sentence study. Gifted Ed teacher is administering GATE evaluations off-site.

Students will continue to read assigned Asian-American books.

Language Arts: Week of Sept 22 - 26, Lesson 3, Intro to Grammar and Vocab Study

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Lesson 3, Intro to Grammar and Vocab Study

What we will learn (objectives):
Administer the pre-assessment for grammar
Introduce the study of grammar
Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature
Explore new vocabulary words

What we will read or study (content):
Grammar pre-assessment
Grammar Study
The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost
Literature Web
Vocabulary Web
Student Response Journal

How we will study it (process):
Students will take grammar pre-assessment.


Monday, Sept 22 and Tuesday, Sept 23
In small groups, students will complete the Word Sort Activity. Discuss with students the categories used. If traditional 8 parts of speech have not been used, introduce them and have students re-sort their words. Have students make up sentences using words from as many categories as possible. Share sentences.

Wed, Sept 24
Use The Road Not Taken to complete a literature web as a class.

Thursday, Sept. 25
Have students start a response journal, and have them respond to the first question.

Using The Road Not Taken, complete a vocab web as a class.


Friday, Sept 26
CBM: Grammar pre-assessment

Extension:
Introduce students to Learning Centers:
Language Study Center and Unit Vocab Center, as well as other appropriate activities.



How we will know we learned something (product):
Grammar pre-assessment
Word Sort
Lit Web
Vocab Web
Completion of at least one learning center

October Gifted Advisory Council Meeting

September Newsletter

Language Arts: Week of Sept 15 - 19, Lesson 2, The Concepts of Change

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Lesson 2, The Concept of Change

What we will learn (objectives):
Introduce the concept of change

What we will read or study (content):
Change Model

How we will study it (process):

Monday, Sept 15, Tuesday Sept 16, Wednesday, Sept 17
Tell students that they will be reflecting on the concept of change in literature and their own lives. Students will be divided into groups of 4 – 5, with a large paper and markers. Students will practice classifying in their groups first (using grocery store as an example; Action Strategies, pg. 131). Then students will discuss questions and write down their answers, followed by brief class discussion. Students will use Response Montage to state their generalizations (Action Strategies, pg. 94). See worksheet 1 below.

Thursday, Sept 17
Using Core Generalization Cards, discuss using Tableaux (Action Strategies, pg. 117). Each team picks a card and has 5 – 10 minutes to create a snapshot/slide show of their core generalization. See worksheet 2 below.

Thursday, Sept 18 and Friday, Sept 19
Students will work in their groups to complete the Change Model handout.

How we will know we learned something (product):
Large paper list
Change Model, to be displayed in class, as well as individual copies for personal use

Wednesday, Sept 17
Homework:
Write a 5-paragraph essay arguing that one of the five generalizations about change is true. Give at least three reasons to support your main idea, and explain reasons carefully. Include a conclusion.
Continue reading the novel you were assigned.

Friday, Sept 19 (possibly)
Extension:
Look through a newspaper or magazine. Find some articles that talk about change. Read one and determine which of the generalizations about change it supports.

Interview a person who has lived in more than one country. Ask this person to compare the types of changes they have experienced in the 2 countries.







Worksheet 1
With your team:


Brainstorm ideas about change and write down all the responses:
 What ideas come to mind when you think about change?
 What kinds of things change? What is it about them that changes?
 How do you know when something has changed? What evidence do you look for to determine whether a change has occurred?


Now, categorize/classify the ideas that you wrote down, putting them into groups and giving each group a title.
Use these questions to guide you:
 How could you categorize these ideas into groups?
 What could you call each group? Why?
 Do all of your changes fall into groups? Might some of them belong in more than one group?
 Is there a different way you might categorize your ideas? What other categories might you use?
 What are some of the characteristics of change, based on the ideas you have written?


Brainstorm a list of ideas that do not change:
 What are some things that do not change? What are some things that always seem the same or always happen the same way?
 What evidence or proof do you have that these things do not change?
 How might you group the things that do not change? What can you call each group?
 How are the groups of things that do not change similar to or different from the groups of things that do change?


Think about the following ideas and whether they show change:
 Routines
 Habits
 Rules and regulations
 Table manners
 Laws
 Customs of cultures
Explain your answers. If they show change, where would they fit into your categories? If they do not, where would they fit?


Each student will make a generalization about change:
A generalization is something that is always or almost always true. What generalization can you make about change?
Use your team’s examples and categories to guide your thinking.

Each student will write one generalization statement and then recite it for the Response Montage.


Worksheet 2
Your team will pick a Core Set of Generalizations card and you will have 5 – 10 minutes to create a tableaux – snapshot or slide show - based on your card.

Snapshot: Imagine a snapshot of the action.
Slide Show: Put together several Tableaux to tell a story of how several ideas relate to each other.


Core Set of Generalizations:
 Change is linked to time
 Change may be positive or negative
 Change may be perceived as orderly or random
 Change is everywhere.
 Change may happen naturally or be caused by people.



How do the five generalizations about change apply or not apply to:
 Non-living things (chair, scissors)
 Traditions (special holidays, celebrations of birth, passage and death)
 Religious rituals (Christmas, Hanukkah)
 Universal truths (all living things die, all triangles have three sides)

With your team, copy the Change Model onto larger paper and complete. Complete the Change Model (Handout 2A) individually as well.

Social Studies: Week of Sept 8 - 12, Chap 1, The Tools of History

Shared with Mr. Cavanaugh, Social Studies teacher, as sample activities for students to complete during Chapter 1 World History, Connections to Today. We will be creating more appropriate activities in the coming weeks.

Provided the following library books for in-class student research:

Archeology (Eyewitness Books), by Jane McIntosh

Early Man, by F. Clark Howell and Time Life Books

Scientists at Work – Archaeologists, by Rose Inserra

The Search for Early Man, by Horizon Magazine and John E. Pfeiffer

Stone Age People, by Keith Branigan

The Story of Life, From the Big Bang to You, by Kim Marshall

Language Arts: Week of Sept 2 - 12, Lesson 1, Intro and Pre-Assessment

This lesson took longer due to Six Traits Writing and Learnia assessments.

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Lesson 1, Introduction and Pre-Assessment

What we will learn (objectives):
Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature
Administer pre-assessments for literature and persuasive writing

What we will read or study (content):
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

How we will study it (process):
Pre-assessment and discussion

Students will draw a picture about a time when they had to make a decision, much like the poem. Students will then write a 5-paragraph essay, make a 5-slide PowerPoint presentation or create a tri-fold brochure about their decision, using the drawing for support.

Share with class sample powerpoint.

Explain that we will be studying many types of changes and the students will be reading selections from Asian, African, Hispanic and Native American cultures. Students will read selections and then respond to them in writing, followed by class discussion.

Introduce first two novels by watching 2 short films from United Streaming: Chinese Immigration (Railroad, Immigrant Bonding) and World War II, Japanese-American Experience (Day of Infamy and Removal).

How we will know we learned something (product):
Pre-assessment for Literature and Writing is completed
5-paragraph essay/5-slide powerpoint is complete.



Homework:
Begin reading the Asian-American book on your list.


Extension:
Students will choose 1.
Read “Birches”, “Putting in the Seed” and “After Apple Picking”, by Robert Frost. Make a chart comparing the 3 poems. List the pieces of the poems that relate to the idea of persuasion and change and present to the class in 2-minutes

Read “The Gift Outright” by Robert Frost. This poem was read at the inauguration of President Kennedy: think about why it may have been appropriate for such an occasion. Give a 2-minute speech to the class arguing for or against the choice of the poem for the inauguration. (Spend some time discussing/researching President Kennedy)

Research the life of Robert Frost. Find out why people thought he was representative of rural areas, of the region in which he lived and of the America of his time. Do you agree or disagree with this image? Give a 5-minute speech to the class to defend your point of view.



Worksheet
Your Road Not Taken

Name: Date:

Think of a time when you had to make a decision that was like choosing between two roads.

o Create a drawing which represents your choice as a decision between two roads. Illustrate the roads so that the picture explains more about the choice that was made, including such details as obstacles in the roads and the potential destinations.

Next, choose one activity:
o write a five paragraph essay
o make a 6-slide PowerPoint presentation
o create a tri-fold brochure

Use your drawing for support.
See other side for expectations.

Be ready to share your drawing and essay/PowerPoint/brochure on .


Expectations:
5-paragraph Essay:
1st paragraph: Introduction to the essay, explaining the main theme of the piece.
2nd paragraph: Explain the decision that was made and the changes it created in your life.
3rd paragraph: Describe the road not taken and the changes it could have made.
4th paragraph: Argue that one path was better than the other, explaining the factors that made the difference and whether you are pleased with the outcomes.
5th paragraph: Conclusion to the essay


Tri-fold brochure:
You must include all the information above, but in an appropriate manner for a brochure. For example, you should use bullets. Please see the template and example brochure.


6-slide PowerPoint:
You must include all the information above, but in an appropriate manner for a PowerPoint presentation. For example, you should use bullets. Please see the template and example PowerPoint.

August Newsletter

Language Arts: August 27, 2008, Creativity Assessment

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Creativity Pre-Assessment

What we will learn (objectives):
To start creativity assessments

What we will read or study (content):
Khatena-Torrence Creative Perception Inventory – What Kind of Person Are You?

How we will study it (process):
Individually

How we will know we learned something (product):
Completed “What Kind of Person Are You?”