Unit 3 – Features of Nonfiction Text
Subject: Reading
Grades: 7th and 8th
Duration: 6-8 days
Connection to Past Learning and Unit Overview
In Unit 3 – Features of Nonfiction Text, scholars will shift gears from a predominate focus
on fiction texts to nonfiction texts. Scholars need the necessary skills and the
opportunities to access and critically analyze nonfiction texts. Whether reading
instructional manuals, informational brochures, the newspaper, a personal essay in a
magazine or an advertisement, scholars must know how to determine the big ideas
inherent in the features and content of the text, as well as how to evaluate the author’s
purpose and their own relationship to that purpose.
Many of the nonfiction materials our scholars confront (which is also the majority of the
text they encounter outside of school) is presented as fact or truth. Scholars must be
given the opportunity to engage in texts that present both a measured view and an
opinionated view of a topic, so they can weigh these varied “truths.” Ultimately,
scholars should develop the skills to become critical of everything they read, particularly
when confronting nonfiction texts that present opinions as truth.
This short, six to eight day unit builds on nonfiction units taught in earlier grades. It
focuses on how to access nonfiction through the THIEVES strategy, how to use the
structure and organization of text to derive meaning, and how to evaluate the
messages therein. If your scholars are working regularly with nonfiction in their Textual
Analysis class, you may want to skip this unit, while ensuring that you incorporate nonfiction texts into your other units. If you do not teach this unit, you should review the
AIMS to be sure to spiral the skills and strategies from this unit into the other work you do
with your scholars. Although scholars will have worked toward these AIMS last year, you
should up the rigor by pairing them with higher-level or more nuanced texts.
You can also increase the rigor by conducting a comparative analysis of texts around a
central theme and continuing to employ the critical lens that scholars used in the
previous two units: Reading is a Conversation Between Reader, Author and Text.
Perhaps even more than in the first two units, Unit 3 offers scholars an opportunity to
weigh the relationships between author and text and text and reader. Non-fiction texts
require astute awareness of bias on the part of the author and reader, understanding
of purpose for the writing, and the ability to assess a text against one’s own thinking and
beliefs. As you move forward through this short unit, consider choosing a thematic
2
focus that will incite strong and varied opinions amongst your scholars. Allow them
access to multiple texts that take vastly different stances or approaches to the same
big idea. Give scholars opportunities to talk to one another, defend their ideas and
write about their thinking to become a reciprocal part of the “conversation.” In this
way, the work your scholars do will be rich. Because of its length, this unit will be
foundational to future units in non-fiction and multi-genre analysis, but its delivery need
not be rote.
Of course, it is imperative that your scholars independently read nonfiction texts during
this unit, as well as engage with them during your mini-lessons. If selecting a single,
whole class text for independent reading, make certain to choose one that embodies
the varied text features presented in this unit. Additionally, you will want to vary the
non-fiction genres of text you select for your mini-lessons, so that scholars are exposed
to a wide variety of non-fiction texts. Alternately, you may choose to bundle various
texts (informational articles, persuasive essays, editorials or speeches, advertisements,
task or “how-to” articles and excerpts from biographies, memoirs and autobiographies)
around a topic or theme of interest for scholars to read independently. In that way, you
may more easily match your modeled instruction to independent text selection. This
would also be an excellent opportunity to differentiate to your scholars’ independent
levels and/or interests.
This unit includes a diagnostic assessment that will help you to tailor your AIMS sequence
for the specific needs of your class. You may need to slow down or speed up
instruction of the AIMS to meet your scholars’ varied needs. We recommend giving the
diagnostic assessment on a Friday or during the previous unit so that you give yourself
some time to adjust your AIMS based on the analysis of your class results.
As with prior units, we have indicated Bottom-Line AIMS. While all of the AIMS in this unit
are important, the Bottom-Line AIMS should be taught to mastery during this unit. The
Additional AIMS can be introduced during this unit, but scholars will not necessarily
need to demonstrate mastery until a later unit. Extension AIMS have also been included
for those scholars (or whole classes) who master the Bottom-Line AIMS quickly and need
an added challenge.
Essential and Guiding Questions
These essential questions will continue to act as an umbrella over our scholars’ thinking
about text throughout the 2010-2011 year and will be returned to in future units:
1. How do our identities as readers impact the way we read?
3
2. What aspects of ourselves (culture, family, past, race, class, gender, age, ethnicity,
language, etc.) do we bring into the conversations we have with others about text?
3. How do multiple perspectives (author, narrator, intended audience) impact our
interactions with a text?
4. Given that everyone has unique interactions with texts, how can we best support
ourselves in our analysis so that our perspectives are clear?
Although the essential questions are broad, the guiding questions, included below,
should help you to narrow your scope for the first unit:
Essential Questions
1. How do our identities as readers
impact the way we read?


Guiding Questions
What do I already expect to encounter in
a nonfiction text?
What assumptions do I make based on
headlines and/or images?
What key ideas can everyone take away
from a text, regardless of personal identity?
What conclusions does the author urge me
to draw, and how are these similar or
different to ideas I already have?
2. What aspects of our identities (culture,
family, past, race, class, gender, age,
ethnicity, language, etc.) do we bring
into the conversations we have with
others about text?

3. How do multiple perspectives (author,
narrator, intended audience) impact
our interactions with a text?
4. Given that everyone has unique
interactions with texts, how can we
best support our analysis?

Who is “speaking” in a text and to what
audience is the author “speaking?”

What details add up to the main idea?

Enduring Understandings and Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, scholars will be able:
 To deconstruct the features of a nonfiction passage through use of the
THIEVES strategy within independent nonfiction texts;
 To conclude the main idea of a nonfiction text by paraphrasing and “adding
up” its topic sentences within independent nonfiction texts;
 To defend their evaluation of a nonfiction text through citation of textual
evidence that most strongly supports their conclusions within independent
nonfiction texts.
4
Notes on UNIT Vocabulary
Instructional Implications
While vocabulary has not been explicitly
included in the AIMS or sample lessons, it
may be necessary to teach and/or review
key academic language that you will use
in your instruction of this unit.
Brief opportunities may be built in during
the Do Now, the mini-lesson or in
homework to teach and/or review these
words. However, these opportunities
should not become whole vocabulary
lessons and should not take the place of
your regular vocabulary program.
In addition to the unit-specific academic
vocabulary list, the words from the 7th and
8th grade vocabulary units are listed on the
right. Because the Literature units and
vocabulary units are not aligned, you will
need to confer with the vocabulary
teacher to make sure these word lists
match the instruction your scholars are
receiving. However, each word list within
a unit should take between two to three
weeks to teach, so these words will likely
be taught in concurrence with this
Literature unit. (Find the vocabulary units
here on the shared server: C u r r i c u l u m >
Shared Documents > Middle School >
Vocabulary > Unit Materials > Schedule and List
(Word of the Day, Morphology)
Vocabulary
Academic
 Evaluate
 Text Features
 Bias
 Persuasive
 Informational
 Objective/Subjective
 Analysis
7th Grade
 Retract
 Considerable
 Variable
 Permeate
 Seldom
 Reciprocate
 Continual
 Criticism
8th Grade
 Allegory
 Analogy
 Thesis
 Norm
 Devoid
 Deconstruct
 Inundate
 Imperceptible
Continue to be thoughtful about how you
might encourage scholars to use the
words from the vocabulary unit within your
class. The words that may best integrate
into the unit are bolded. However,
scholars will be steadily exposed to all of
these words through their vocabulary
program and any of them might surface
within their reading.
For a great article on embedding
academic language into your instruction,
read this article by Himmele and Himmele.
5
Assessments
Below are descriptions and links to the diagnostic, formative and summative
assessments for Unit 3. The formative assessments are suggestions that may be used
daily, weekly, and in combination to measure scholars’ progress toward unit goals. The
diagnostic exam is directly aligned to the summative assessment, which should be
delivered uniformly across the grade in order to accurately measure scholars’
achievement.


Diagnostic
F&P scores
Unit 3 Diagnostic
Assessment




Formative
Do Nows
Class work artifacts
from reading
notebooks, graphic
organizers, class or
small-group
discussions, etc.
Scholar-teacher
conferences and
guided reading
groups
Exit tickets

Summative
Unit 3 Summative
Assessment
6
Bottom-Line and Additional AIMS + Suggested Sequencing
There are three Bottom-Line AIMS that must be explicitly taught to mastery for all
scholars by the end of Unit 3, for which you have a six to eight day window. The
Bottom-Line AIMS are bolded and highlighted, below. Ultimately, every scholar,
regardless of his or her starting point, will be held accountable to the same summative
assessment, which is designed to test your scholars for mastery of the Bottom-Line AIMS.
Each Bottom-Line AIM should be considered a benchmark along the road of your
instruction for this unit. While each of the Bottom-Line AIMS must be reached, the order
of your arrival or the length of time you spend devoted to reaching each benchmark
may not be the same for each of your classes. Therefore, the AIMS need not be taught
in the order in which they’re listed.
The Additional AIMS, bulleted underneath each of the Bottom-Line AIMS, include
spiraled review AIMS from last year and the previous unit. You will use your professional
judgment to determine which of the Additional AIMS need extra attention, integrating
into other lessons, or cutting out in order to lead your scholars to their goals for the unit.
The instructional path you take through the Additional AIMS to reach the Bottom-Line
AIMS may vary widely depending on the diagnostic data you gather from the
assessment. In this way, you can tailor your instruction to the differentiated needs of
your scholars.
Finally, there several Extension AIMS listed below for a class (or small group of scholars)
that quickly masters the Bottom-Line AIMS and needs more rigorous challenges within
the unit.
In order to help you tailor your AIMS sequence to the needs of your scholars, this section
also includes three Sample AIMS Sequence Calendars. The first two sequence
calendars have been filled in to demonstrate how you might plot your AIMS for classes
at very different levels. The third calendar is blank. Use it to fill in the AIMS sequence
that will work best for your scholars.
7
Bottom-Line and Additional AIMS

Bottom-Line AIM #1.1: SWBAT deconstruct the features of a nonfiction passage through use
of the THIEVES strategy.
 1.2) SWBAT critique the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how
the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Bottom-Line AIM #2.1: SWBAT conclude the main idea of a nonfiction text by “adding up”
its topic sentences into a summary.
 2.2) SWBAT retell the key ideas of a nonfiction text by determining the main idea of
several paragraphs.
 2.3) SWBAT analyze the development of a central idea of a nonfiction text over the
course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas.
Bottom-Line AIM #3.1: SWBAT assess an author’s conclusions in a nonfiction text through
evaluation of text evidence.
 3.2) SWBAT produce a response to the author’s point of view or purpose in a text
through written reaction to nonfiction text.
Extension AIMS

1. SWBAT analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their
presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing
interpretations of facts.
2. SWBAT evaluate the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of
particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
3. SWBAT compare and contrast two or more texts provide conflicting information on
the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or
interpretation.
Notes on Behavioral and Procedural AIMS
This unit does not include specific behavioral or procedural AIMS. As you tailor your
lessons, continue to keep in mind the ways in which you might incorporate behavioral
and procedural expectations into your instruction.
8
Sample AIMS Sequence Calendar #1
This sample AIMS sequence calendar is designed for a class that may have mastered
some or several of the AIMS on the diagnostic assessment and may need to spend less
time on the Additional AIMS and Bottom-Line AIMS. This sample sequence has been
adjusted to include extension AIMS that would extend the learning and increase the
rigor of the unit.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
EA 1) SWBAT
analyze how two
or more authors
writing about the
same topic shape
their presentations
of key information
by emphasizing
different
evidence or
advancing
interpretations of
facts.
2.1) SWBAT
conclude the
main idea of a
nonfiction text by
adding up its topic
sentences into a
summary.
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
3.1) SWBAT assess
an author’s
conclusions in a
nonfiction text
through
evaluation of text
evidence.
3.2) SWBAT
produce a
response to the
author’s point of
view or purpose in
a text through
written reaction to
nonfiction text.
EA 3) SWBAT
compare and
contrast two or
more texts that
provide conflicting
information on the
same topic and
identify where the
texts disagree on
matters of fact or
interpretation.
1.1) SWBAT
deconstruct the
features of a
nonfiction
passage through
use of the THIEVES
strategy.
Day 4
Day 5
3.1) SWBAT assess
an author’s
conclusions in a
nonfiction text
through
evaluation of text
evidence.
EA 2) SWBAT
evaluate the
structure of a
specific
paragraph in a
text, including the
role of particular
sentences in
developing and
refining a key
concept.
INTRODUCE NEW
UNIT
INTRODUCE NEW
UNIT
9
Sample AIMS Sequence Calendar #2
A class that scored lower, overall, on the diagnostic may need more scaffolding and
practice toward mastery of the Bottom-Line AIMS. You may also use lower-level texts
within the mini-lessons. If your readers are not yet strategic, you may need to integrate
a few lessons from the 5th grade “Fix-It” unit (see the resources section) to reconfigure
your AIMS sequence.
Day 1
1.1) SWBAT
deconstruct the
features of a
nonfiction
passage through
use of the THIEVES
strategy.
Day 6
3.1) SWBAT assess
an author’s
conclusions in a
nonfiction text
through
evaluation of text
evidence.
Day 2
1.1) SWBAT
deconstruct the
features of a
nonfiction
passage through
use of the THIEVES
strategy.
Day 7
3.1) SWBAT assess
an author’s
conclusions in a
nonfiction text
through
evaluation of text
evidence.
Day 3
2.2) SWBAT retell
the key ideas of a
nonfiction text by
determining the
main idea of
several
paragraphs.
Day 8
3.2) SWBAT
produce a
response to the
author’s point of
view or purpose in
a text through
written reaction to
nonfiction text.
Day 4
2.1) SWBAT
conclude the
main idea of a
nonfiction text by
adding up its
topic sentences
into a summary.
Day 9
INTRODUCE NEW
UNIT
Day 5
2.1) SWBAT
conclude the
main idea of a
nonfiction text by
adding up its
topic sentences
into a summary.
Day 10
INTRODUCE NEW
UNIT
10
Sample AIMS Sequence Calendar #3
Use this blank calendar to plot the AIMS sequence and stamina increments that are
most appropriate to your class, based on your diagnostic results. You should also plot
behavioral and procedural AIMS that you wish to integrate into your
instruction. Each space may also be used to list the scholars who, based on their
diagnostic data, may need added attention during small group instruction or
conferencing for each of the AIMS.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Resources

Click here for more ideas on teaching the THIEVES strategy.

Read Chapter 7, “Reading Nonfiction: Learning and Understanding” from Stephanie
Harvey’s book, Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research in Grades 3-8
(Stenhouse Publishers, 1998) for more great insights on the rationale and best
methods for teaching nonfiction texts. (Included as a separate document on
Shared Server.)

Read Chapter 2, “Structures and Strategies That Support the Teaching of Short Texts”
from Kimberly Hill Campbell’s book, Less Is More: Teaching Literature with Short Texts
– Grades 6-12 (Stenhouse Publishers, 2007) for ideas about using short texts in your
mini-lessons. (Included as a separate document on Shared Server.)

Here are some suggestions for texts and great websites for finding nonfiction
material for use in your lessons for Unit 3. Some of these text suggestions may be
repeated later in the 2010-2011 scope and sequence, because they work well with
multiple units.
Books (and Grade Level Equivalent or
Fountas and Pinnell Level as Available) 






Claudette Colvin: Twice toward
Justice by Phillip Hoose (6.8)
Topic: Civil Rights movement; bus
boycott
Voices From the Holocaust by Harry
James Cargas
Topic: WWII; Holocaust
Chew On This by Eric Schlosser (8.6)
Topic: The “truth” about fast food




With Their Eyes: The View From A High
School at Ground Zero edited by
Annie Thomas
Topic: Teens’ reactions to 9/11
The Kid Who Invented the Trampoline
and Other Extraordinary Stories about
Inventions by Don L. Wulffson

Topic: Inventions
The Freedom Writers Diary with Erin
Websites
Time For Kids:
www.timeforkids.com
Tolerance.org (Project of the Southern Poverty
Law Center):
www.tolerance.org
PBS for Teachers:
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/
New York Times:
www.nytimes.com
CNN
www.cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/
Los Angeles Times:
www.latimes.com
Helpful Kid’s News Site:
12




Gruell (Z)
Topic: Gangs, Education

In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle by
Madeleine Blais (7.5)
Topic: Girls’ sports; Overcoming
obstacles
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
(5.3)
Topic: Titanic
Hole in my Life by Jack Gantos (7.1)
Topic: Drug abuse; Incarceration
www.kidsnewsroom.org
Sports Illustrated for Kids
http://www.sikids.com
National Geographic for Kids:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids
Discovery Channel for Kids:
http://kids.discovery.com/
Check-out the 7th and 8th grade History Scope and Sequence, created by Ali Brown
and her fabulous History teachers to create cross-curricular opportunities. In
particular, consider each grade’s essential questions for the year, unit specific topics
and essential questions for the unit to think about how you can tie them into the
reading you do with your scholars
While scholars complete Unit 3 in Literature, 7th and 8th graders will complete their
first long unit of study in History:
History
Essential
Questions for the
Year
Unit Focus
Unit Essential
Questions
7th grade
What does it mean to be
“American?”
8th grade
To what extent is America a
land of opportunity?
What ultimately caused the Civil
War?
New American Colonies and
Native Americans
How does where you live affect
how you live?
To what extent have we
experienced a rights revolution?
Post-Civil War Legislation and
Reconstruction Efforts
Can equality be legislated?
View the full Scope and Sequence here. Use it to help you collaborate with the
History teacher at your school, to make text selections, and to build schema.

For differentiation strategies, check out the tips on the Scholastic website. The
article includes a bibliography of books on the subject.

The following chart, shared with us by Maddie Witter and developed by Perkins and
Swarts, helps to think about your scholars’ varied metacognitive abilities as readers.
Use it to adjust your groups of scholars and/or to adjust your mini-lessons. Although
ideally all of our 7th and 8th grade scholars would be strategic now and working on
becoming reflective by the end of the year, some of our scholars are tacit or aware
and need differentiated instruction to succeed. In this case, see the 5th grade Unit 5,
“Fix-It” strategies on the Shared Server for ideas: C u r r i c u l u m > S h a r e d D o c u m e n t s >
Middle School > Literature > Unit Materials > 2010-2011 AF GR05-08 Literature Units > 5th
Grade Units > Unit 5--Fix-it Strategies
13
1. Tacit
Readers
2. Aware
Readers
3. Strategic
Readers
4. Reflective
Readers
Lack awareness of how they think when they read.
Realize when meaning has broken down or confusion has set in
may not have sufficient strategies for fixing the problem.
Use thinking and comprehension strategies to enhance
understanding and acquire knowledge. Are able to monitor and
repair meaning when it is disrupted.
Are strategic about their thinking and are able to apply strategies
flexibly depending on their goals and/or purposes for reading.
Structure of Literature Class
Adapted from Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy 6-9, Section 4, Author
Unknown.
The following chart can be used as a resource to think about how to structure your
reading workshop for each of your mini-lessons. The time-frames are conducive to a 45
minute block on the lower end of the time scale and a 60 minute block on the higher
end of the time scale.
If your teaching block falls between these two times, and you are unsure how to
allocate the extra minutes, it is best to add time to the Independent Practice (“You
Do”) section of the lesson, whenever possible.
Cumulative
Review
(DO NOW)
2-3 minutes
In all cases, the mini-lesson should take between five and fifteen minutes, including the
time it takes to connect to your lesson from the previous day. The more time you
allocate for your scholars to read and engage with their independent texts, the better!
If you frequently find yourself running out of time for a lesson, shorten the DO NOW and
share sections of the lesson. You may even shorten the active engagement piece
(“We DO”) and build thoughtful small group or one-on-one conferencing for those
scholars who need extra scaffolding and support during independent practice.
The cumulative review section of the lesson includes review of a
previous lesson and skills practice.
14
Connection
What this might sound like:
 Yesterday I noticed…
 When I was reading your notebooks, I noticed…
 During conferences yesterday/this week…
 We’ve been working on_____, now it’s time to start working on...
Guided Practice
“WE DO”
Teach: Mini-Lesson
“I DO”
During the teach or mini-lesson component of the lesson, teachers will
demonstrate their thinking about a strategy, retell an experience, or
model a successful strategy they have observed another reader/writer
use.
Link to
Independent
Practice
5-15 minutes
3-5 minutes
During the connection, teachers tell scholars what they will teach them
and how the day’s work will help them to grow as readers. The
connection is based on something previously observed or is used to
transition to new learning.
Think aloud strategies may include: skimming/scanning for main idea
and details, using charts, inferential thinking skills, word patterns,
locating information, outlining, re-reading, etc.
The mini-lesson may also incorporate word work: vocabulary,
comprehension strategies, etc.
What this might sound like:
 Today I am going to show you…
 Audrey is going to show you…
 We have been reading texts by/about _______. Let me show you
how I connect (or other strategy) to this text while I read.
During the guided practice, the teacher leads scholars through an
opportunity to try what was taught as a whole class. Scholars may
work with a partner. This is a “quick try” of what was modeled or during
the mini-lesson with declining scaffolding.
What this might sound like:
 Look for a place in your story where you can try…
 Now it’s your turn, using the paragraph on the overhead (or the
handout I distributed), “give-it-a-go…”
 Turn to your partner and share…
In the link component of the lesson, scholars are encouraged to
transfer the mini-lesson to their independent work for the day.
What this might sound like:
 Today when you go off to read, I want you to try and notice…
 During your independent reading, I want you to try this strategy…
15
Independent Practice and
Small Group Instruction
“YOU DO”
Share/ Assessment
25-35 minutes
2-5 minutes
The independent practice and small group work section is an
opportunity for scholars to practice the AIM on their own. It is also time
for the teacher to meet with small groups of scholars who need
scaffolding or extension of instruction and/or conferencing with
individual scholars.
What this might sound like:
 Chris, can you tell me how your reading practice is going today?
 Based on yesterday’s exit ticket, this group is ready for a
challenge…
 Based on our conferences, I wanted to show all of you another way
to tackle…
The share is a follow-up to the mini-lesson. Scholars are gathered (or redirected) to share. The teacher selects scholars to share who have
demonstrated a thorough understanding of the AIM. Teachers should
administer and collect a quick, formative assessment of class mastery
of the lesson’s AIM.
What this might sound like:
 Today I noticed that Marissa tried out what I taught today in the
mini-lesson. Marissa, can you share how it went?
 I conferred with Marcus today, and he tried something that worked
for him. Mike will you share with us how you…?
 I’d like you to take a moment to complete this exit ticket, so I can
see how well each of you has understood today’s AIM…
16
Standards/Performance Indicators Addressed
Common Core State
Standards
7th grade Reading Standards for
Informational Texts:




Cite several pieces of
textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the
text.
Analyze the structure an
author uses to organize a
text, including how the
major sections contribute to
the whole and to the
development of the ideas.
Determine an author’s point
of view or purpose in a text
and analyze how the author
distinguishes his or her
position from that of others.
By the end of the year, read
and comprehend literary
nonfiction in the grades 6-8
text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding
as needed at the high end
of the range.
New York State Standards and
Core Curriculum in ELA
Connecticut ELA Curriculum
Standards
Grade 7
Grades 7 & 8
Standard 1: Scholars will read, write,
listen and speak for information
and understanding.
Standard 1: Students
comprehend and respond in
literal, critical and evaluative
ways to various texts that are
read, reviewed and heard.





Interpret data, facts and ideas
from informational texts by
applying thinking skills, such as
define, classify and infer.
Preview informational texts with
guidance to assess content
and organization and select
texts useful for the task.
Distinguish between relevant
and irrelevant information
Formulate questions to be
answered by reading
informational text, with
assistance.
Compare and contrast
information from a variety of
different sources.
Standard 3: Students will read,
write, listen and speak for critical
analysis and evaluation.

Recognize the effect of one’s
own point of view in evaluating
ideas, information, opinions
and issues.






Use appropriate strategies
before, during and after
reading in order to construct
meaning.
Interpret, analyze and
evaluate text in order to
extend understanding and
appreciation.
Determine the main idea of
text.
Select and use relevant
information from the text in
order to summarize events
and/or ideas in the text.
Identify or infer the author’s
use of structure/
organizational patterns.
Analyze and evaluate the
author’s craft including use of
literary devices and textual
elements
Standard 4: Students will read,
write, listen and speak for social
interaction.


8th grade Reading Standards for
Informational Texts:

Cite the textual evidence
that most strongly supports
an analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the
Share reading experiences with
peers or adults; for example,
read together silently or aloud
with a partner or in small
groups.
Consider the age, gender,
social position, and cultural
traditions of the writer.
Grade 8
Standard 1: Students will read,
write, listen, and speak for
information and understanding.
• Apply thinking skills, such as
define, classify, and infer, to
17




text.
Determine a central idea of
a text and analyze its
development over the
course of the text, including
its relationship to supporting
ideas; provide an objective
summary of the text.
Analyze in detail the
structure of a specific
paragraph in a text,
including the role of
particular sentences in
developing and refining a
key concept.
Determine an author’s point
of view or purpose in a text
and analyze how the author
acknowledges and
responds to conflicting
evidence or viewpoints.
By the end of the year, read
and comprehend literary
nonfiction at the high end of
the grades 6-8 text
complexity band
independently and
proficiently.
interpret data, facts, and ideas
from informational texts
• Preview informational texts to
assess content and organization
and select texts useful for the task
• Use knowledge of structure,
content, and vocabulary to
understand informational text
• Distinguish between relevant and
irrelevant information
• Formulate questions to be
answered by reading
informational text
• Compare and contrast
information from a variety of
different sources
Standard 4: Students will read,
write, listen, and speak for
social interaction.
• Share reading experiences with
peers or adults; for
example, read together silently or
aloud with a partner or
in small groups
• Consider the age, gender, social
position, and traditions
of the writer
18
Name:__________________ Class:__________________ Score:_____________
Scale: _______/26
Unit 3 Diagnostic Assessment in Reading
Directions: Read “The Roswell Incident,” by Phillip Brooks. Then, answer all of the
questions that follow. Remember, before we start our new unit, this is how you can
Show What You Know so I can teach you better in the days that come! Do your best!
Word Bank: You may need to know the meaning of these words in order to understand the text.
hieroglyphs – picture symbols used for writing
spindly – slender and long
autopsy– the medical examination of a dead body in order to establish the cause and circumstances of death
The Roswell Incident
by Phillip Brooks
Have flying saucers crashed on Earth? Are aliens
among us? Strange events that happened in 1947 may make you
wonder.
Date: July 3, 1947
Place: Roswell, New Mexico
William “Mac” Brazel rode his horse across the dry desert land of his ranch. He thought
about the explosion he had heard last night during a storm. Now he wanted to find out
what had caused it.
Something silver glinted in the sunlight, catching Mac’s eye. The ground around him
was littered with shiny metal pieces. He stopped to pick one up.
19
The fragment was extremely lightweight but unbendable. And it was covered with
hieroglyphs. Mac felt uneasy. The metal looked like nothing on earth. He telephoned
the air force base at nearby Roswell. Staff from the Roswell base arrived at Mac’s
ranch. They posted guards around the area where the metal was found.
On July 8, the air force base issued an amazing news statement – they said that the
wreckage was from a flying saucer! Later that day, the base released a second
statement. It said that the first story was a mistake. The crashed object was in fact a
weather balloon. But was it? Were the authorities covering something up?
On the left is the front page of a Roswell newspaper that appeared in 1947. On the right, a member of the Roswell
Army Air Force (RAAF) holds up a piece of the “flying saucer” they later called a “weather balloon.”
Soon there were stories of a second crash site about 100 miles west of Roswell.
An engineer named Grady Barnett said he was working in the desert when he saw a
large metal disk on the ground.
Scattered around the crumpled disk were five small, gray bodies. They appeared to be
dead. As Grady stood staring, a military vehicle drove up. An officer jumped out. He
told Grady to leave at once and, more importantly, never speak about what he had
seen. As he was hustled away, Grady glanced over his shoulder. Once of the
creatures seemed to open an eye and look back at him.
Grady Barnett said later that the bodies were “like humans, but they were not humans.”
They were small, with spindly arms and legs. Their heads were large, with sunken eyes
and no teeth.
20
In the more than fifty years since the actual event, various witnesses have come
forward with bizarre stories about the aliens. Some claim the alien bodies were taken to
the Roswell Air Force Base.
One story told how doctors at the Roswell Army Hospital had been ordered on duty at
short notice. The shocked doctors were told to cut open and examine the bodies of
the dead aliens in a procedure called an autopsy. When the bodies were cut open, a
terrible smell filled the room. Several doctors became too sick to carry on.
The story took another twist in the 1990s, when a video tape was released. The film was
supposed to date from 1947 and show the alien autopsy. But many people believe
that the film is a fake and the autopsy never happened.
The Roswell legend has continued to grow. New details have been added, including a
rumor that the alien bodies were frozen in ice and kept at a top-secret air force base
called Area 51.
It seems certain that something did crash at Roswell in 1947. Does the air force know
more than it is telling? Were the stories fake? We may never know.
A photograph of wreckage of the Roswell crash.
21
1. (1.1) Choose three of the following text features to fill in the blanks, below, and
explain how you used each of them to interpret the text as you read: Title, Headings,
Introduction, Each topic sentence, Visuals, or Ending (conclusion).
1. _________________________________________________
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
2. _________________________________________________
22
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
3. _______________________________________________
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
2. (1.1) What is the difference between the picture of the alien that appears next to
the title of the article and the photographs that appear later in the text? Why do
you think the author included both in this article?
23
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately interpret the author’s purpose for including one visual.
Scholar can accurately interpret the author’s purpose for including the other visual.
Scholar is able to derive meaning about the inclusion of both visuals by contrasting the two.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
3. (2.1) What is the main idea of this article? Support your answer.
CRITERIA
Scholar identifies main idea of the text.
Scholar summarizes the main idea of the text.
Scholar locates specific, relevant details to support the main idea.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/3
4. (2.1) Which two of the topic sentences in the article best reveal the main idea of the
whole article? Explain your choices, below.
24
CRITERIA
Scholar is able to identify one topic sentence that clearly encapsulates the main idea.
Scholar is able to identify two topic sentences that clearly encapsulate the main idea.
Scholar is able to provide clear, logical supporting evidence for choice of topic sentences.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/3
5. (2.3) One important idea in the article, “The Roswell Incident” is that what
happened at Roswell continues to be a big mystery. Which additional fact or detail
from the article could you add in the space, below, to support this idea?
William “Mac” Brazel
discovers unusual
metal fragments
covered with
hieroglyphs on his
ranch. The Roswell Air
Force base first calls his
discovery a flying
saucer, before stating
that it was actually a
fallen weather balloon.
Many people are
curious about the
events that happened
at Roswell, and rumors
about the aliens and
UFOS thought to be
discovered there
continue to circulate.
CRITERIA
Scholar locates a specific, relevant detail to the important idea expressed in the question.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/1
6. (3.1) Aliens and UFOs are difficult to write about using solid facts. Which are the two
strongest facts presented by the author? Explain why they are the strongest.
25
CRITERIA
Scholar selects one strong fact from the text.
Scholar selects another strong fact from the text.
Scholar defends both choices as the strongest facts in the text by making relevant
connections to the big ideas of the text.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/3
7. (3.1)Re-read paragraph 4, beginning “On July 8…” Based on the evidence
presented in the article, which of the statements issued by the air force base do you
think is true? Defend your answer with evidence from the text.
CRITERIA
Scholar gives a clear opinion in response to the question.
Scholar gives multiple (two or more) examples of supporting information from the
paragraph to defend his/her opinion.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/2
26
8.
(3.2) Imagine that you visited Roswell and saw this in the sky:
Use the photograph and your imagination to write a paragraph that could be
included in the article, “The Roswell Incident.” Then, explain why your paragraph
belongs in the article.
CRITERIA
Scholar writes a clear, related response to the article.
Scholar clearly and logically connects his/her writing to the article.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/2
27
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT/CONFERENCING SHEET:
Use or modify this conferencing sheet to formatively assess your scholars’ mastery of the unit AIMS. This conference form
is meant to be used multiple times over a series of conferences throughout the unit. For instance, assess a scholar’s
ability to recall key ideas “Within” the text during one lesson and check “About” the text comprehension during another
lesson by asking questions that zone in on author’s craft and text features.
Scholar’s Name:_________________________________________
Unit:_______________________
Text(s):__________________________________________________________________________________
Date Oral Reading Notes (Types of errors, self-corrections, fluency, rate, etc.): Next Steps:
Comprehension Within the Text (Summary, Recall):
Questions Asked:
Observations:
Comprehension Beyond the Text (Infer, Connect, Conclude):
Questions Asked:
Observations:
Comprehension About the Text (Author’s craft/purpose, Text structure):
Questions Asked:
Observations:
Scholar’s Reading Goal(s):
28
Name:__________________ Class:__________________ Score:_____________
Scale: _______/26
Unit 3 Summative Assessment in Reading
Directions: Read “The School Uniform Question” from Great Essays. As you read, pay careful
attention to the features of nonfiction text we’ve learned about in class. Then, answer all of
the questions that follow. Be sure to support your answers with text evidence.
Show What You Know!
Word Bank: You may need to know the meaning of these words in order to understand the text.
fundamental – essential; basic
truancy – absence without permission
implementing – putting into effect
flaunt – to show off; to display
The School Uniform Question
from Great Essays
Conformist or responsible?
Expressive or distracting?
Individualism is a fundamental value in the United States. All Americans
believe in the right to express their own opinion without fear of punishment. This
value, however, is coming under fire in an unlikely place – the public school
classroom. The issue is school uniforms. Should public school students be
allowed to make individual decisions about clothing, or should all students be
required to wear a uniform? School uniforms are the better choice for three
reasons.
First, wearing school uniforms would help make students’ lives simpler.
They would no longer have to decide what to wear every morning, sometimes trying
on outfit after outfit in an effort to choose. Uniforms would not only save time but
also would eliminate the stress often associated with this chore.
Second, school uniforms influence students to act responsible in groups and
as individuals. Uniforms give students the message that school is a special place
29
for learning. In addition, uniforms create a feeling of unity among students. For
example, when students do something as a group, such as attend meetings in the
auditorium or eat lunch in the cafeteria, the fact that they all wear the same
uniform would create a sense of community. Even more important, statistics show
the positive effects that school uniforms have on violence and truancy. According
to a recent survey in Hillsborough County, Florida, incidents of school violence
dropped by 50 percent, attendance and test scores improved, and student
suspensions declined approximately 30 percent after school uniforms were
introduced.
Finally, school uniforms would help make all the students feel equal.
People’s standards of living differ greatly, and some people are well-off while others
are not. People sometimes forget that school is a place to get an education, not to
promote a “fashion show.” Implementing mandatory school uniforms would
make all the students look the same regardless of their financial status. School
uniforms would promote pride and help to raise the self-esteem of students who
cannot afford to wear stylish clothing.
Opponents of mandatory uniforms say that students who wear school
uniforms cannot express their individuality. This point has some merit on the
surface. However, as previously stated, school is a place to learn, not to flaunt
wealth and fashion. Society must decide if individual expression through clothing
is more valuable than improved educational performance. It’s important to
remember that school uniforms would be worn only during school hours.
Students can express their individuality in the way they dress outside of the
classroom.
In conclusion, there are many well-documented benefits to implementing
mandatory school uniforms for students. Studies show that students learn better
and act more responsibly when they wear uniforms. Public schools should require
uniforms in order to benefit both the students and society as a whole.
30
1.
(1.1) Explain how you used the following three text features to interpret the text as
you read:
1. Title
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
2. Visuals
CRITERIA
1 POINT EACH
31
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
____/3
3. Introduction
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately identify and locate the selected text feature.
Scholar understands the purpose of the text feature.
Scholar is able to accurately interpret information from the text feature.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
2. (1.1) What is the difference between the two photographs shown at the beginning
of the essay? Why do you think the author included both photographs?
32
CRITERIA
Scholar can accurately interpret the author’s purpose for including one visual.
Scholar can accurately interpret the author’s purpose for including the other visual.
Scholar is able to derive meaning about the inclusion of both visuals by contrasting the two.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
____/3
3. (2.1) What is the main idea of this essay? Support your answer.
CRITERIA
Scholar identifies main idea of the text.
Scholar summarizes the main idea of the text.
Scholar locates specific, relevant details to support the main idea.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/3
4. (2.1) Which topic sentence in the essay best reveals the main idea of the whole
article? Explain your choice.
33
CRITERIA
Scholar is able to identify one topic sentence that clearly encapsulates the main idea.
Scholar is able to provide clear, logical supporting evidence for choice of topic sentence.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/2
5. (2.3) Which additional fact or detail found in the essay could you add in the space,
below, to support the argument that school uniforms are the best choice for
students?
School
uniforms
help make
students’
lives
simpler.
School
uniforms
influence
students to
act
responsibly.
School
uniforms
help
students
feel equal.
CRITERIA
Scholar locates a specific, relevant detail from the text to support the arugument.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/1
6. (3.1) Which are the two strongest arguments made by the author in this essay to
support school uniforms in schools. Explain why they are the strongest arguments.
CRITERIA
1 POINT EACH
34
Scholar selects one strong fact from the text.
Scholar selects another strong fact from the text.
Scholar defends both choices as the strongest facts in the text by making relevant
connections to the big ideas of the text.
Total:
___/3
7. (3.1)In paragraph 4, what supporting information does the writer give to show that
uniforms make students equal? Is this strong supporting information? Why or why
not?
CRITERIA
Scholar gives multiple (two or more) examples of supporting information from the
paragraph.
Scholar gives an opinion about the strength of the supporting information and provides a
relevant defense of his/her opinon.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/2
8. (3.2) Children are too materialistic these days. They are too interested in wearing
designer clothes and shoes.
What opinion might the author have about this statement? How do you know?
What is your opinion? Support your answer.
35
CRITERIA
Scholar clearly and logically connects the author and essay to the statement.
Scholar expresses an opinion related to the statement and essay.
Scholar clearly and logically supports his/her thinking.
Total:
1 POINT EACH
___/3
36
AIMS Mastery Tracker (Diagnostic to Summative)
Use this spreadsheet to log and track your scholars’ progress from the diagnostic (D) to the summative (S) assessment. The
assessments are closely aligned to each other, as well as to the AIMS for the unit. It should give you a clear indication of which
AIMS your scholars have mastered and which need re-teaching or review in subsequent units. Also listed under each AIM are
the question numbers on the assessment that correspond to each of the AIMS.
The spreadsheet is formatted as an Excel spreadsheet that you can manipulate directly inside of the document or cut and
paste into your Excel program. That way you can tailor it to your needs and have it reflect your scholars’ names and individual
scores.
AIM (Bottom-Line
AIMS are shaded.)
Test Type
Scholars
1.1
Q: 1,2
D
2.1
Q: 3,4
S
D
2.3
Q: 5
S
D
3.1
Q: 6,7
S
D
3.2
Q: 8
S
D
S
37
Sample Lessons:
A sample lesson has been included for each of the three Bottom-Line AIMS. The lessons
draw heavily from ideas and concepts in the book, Nonfiction Reading Power by Adrienne
Gear (Stenhouse Publishers, 2008). These lessons are meant to be used as springboards into
your own thinking about lesson planning for this unit and should be used only after they
have been tailored to your scholars’ needs. Texts may need to be differentiated for your
scholars. Like the content, the process of your lessons will change according to your
scholars’ needs and your own preferences. These lessons are not in a fixed order. For extra
help organizing the AIMS, see the suggested AIMS sequences on p 8-10.
Note on texts for mini-lessons: These lessons model the way in which you might link short
texts around a central idea or topic for your mini-lessons. For these sample lessons, all of the
texts center on the topic of food, food production, and health and nutrition. They could be
paired the following books (to be read as independent books or in excerpted form): Chew
On This by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, Peak Performance: Sports
Nutrition by Donna Shrye, Body Fuel: A Guide to Good Nutrition by Donna Shrye, and/or
Weighing In: Nutrition and Weight Management by Lesli J. Favor
There are endless high-interest topics to use to connect your lessons to each other. Obvious
considerations are your scholars’ interests, as well as the availability of non-fiction texts and
resources at your school. You may also compliment your scholars’ learning in History or
Science by choosing topics related to their current unit of study in one of those classes.
(See the Resources section for links to the History scope and sequence for 7th and 8th
grade.) Additionally, you may select a whole class non-fiction text that you’re passionate
about, then select articles, essays and other nonfiction resources to connect to that text
(i.e. The Freedom Writers by Erin Gruell might pair well with texts on gangs, community, the
power of self-expression, and excerpts from Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic or The Diary of
Anne Frank by Anne Frank).
As always, you should use texts that suit your adaptation of the unit. See additional
suggestions in the Resources section, beginning on page 11.
Finally, each of the lessons includes work for scholars in their I-Think Journals. At this point in
the year, scholars should be continuously developing an I-Think Journal or other notebook
dedicated to their thinking about their reading. Continue to reinforce expectations for use
of the I-Think Journal within your lessons.
38
Sample Lesson: Text Features and THIEVES
Teaching Point: Good readers know the common text features of nonfiction texts. They
can analyze the features to draw conclusions about the content of the text and the
author’s purpose.
AIM: #1.1: SWBAT deconstruct the features of a nonfiction passage through use of the
THIEVES strategy.
Criteria for success (You may choose to explicitly share these during your mini-lesson
OR imply them during your think aloud):
 Examine text features: (Title, Headings, Introduction, Every first sentence, Visuals,
Ending, So what?)
 Ask: What observations can I make about the text features? What conclusions
can I make, based on my observations?
 Read the full article to see if my conclusions are correct
 So What? Summarize the main idea and my reaction to the article.
Materials:
 Visuals and Title from “Too Many Junk Food Ads!” to post or project for
Connection/Hook
 Copies and/or means of projecting “Too Many Junk Food Ads!”
 Copies of “Warning! Check Your Eggs!” and a means of projecting it for the
class.
 Visual Anchor: THIEVES
 Optional Visual Anchor: Criteria for Success
 I-Think Journals
 Independent text (or scholars’ independent books)
 Homework
Agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Do Now – Parts of the Whole
Mini lesson –THIEVES!
Guided – What can We “Take Away?”
Independent – What can YOU “Take Away?”
Share – Share your Loot!
Homework
Connection/Hook:
Reveal each of the following three nonfiction text features, one at a time.
39
Say: I want you to imagine that each of the following text features I am about to show
you is part of the same article. One at a time, you’ll look at the text feature, and write a
sentence or short phrase to describe what you think the article is about, based on what
you see or read. Your ideas may change or they might stay the same. Write down
what comes to mind.
1.
Sample Responses:
This article is probably about
McDonald’s or fast food.
2.
This article might be about how
McDonald’s or other fast food makes
people overweight.
3.
Too Many Junk Food Ads!
***
This article might be about how fast
food or other junk food companies
are contributing to health and weight
issues through their advertisements.
Ask: What were your impressions based on the first visual? Why? The second? Third?
How did your conclusions about the topic of the article change as you looked at each
of the three text features? (Allow 3-4 scholars to respond. You may want to monitor the
room as scholars respond to the prompts to pre-select scholars whose assumptions are
correct.)
Say: You’ve drawn some interesting conclusions about this article based on the text
features we saw. In a moment, we’ll read the whole article to find out if our conclusions
are accurate.
40
Mini Lesson:
Say: When we deconstruct or take apart and examine nonfiction text features, it’s
amazing how much information we can gather. Nonfiction texts, whether they’re
science textbooks, articles in a magazine, editorials in a newspaper, or advertisements
usually include a combination of several text features that give a lot of important
information about the main ideas expressed in the text.
Today, we’re going to look a little more closely at the common features of nonfiction
texts and practice deconstructing them, or taking them apart, so we can draw
accurate conclusions about what the author is trying to tell us. By deconstructing the
features, I mean that we’ll look at the information contained in each feature, like we
did at the beginning of class, and try to interpret that information. What does each
feature reveal about the main idea of the text and the author’s purpose? What
conclusions can I make?
First, we have to “take away” information from the text features by identifying and
interpreting them. Thieves know where to go in a house, museum or bank to find the
“goods.” We can find the “goods” in a nonfiction text, if we think like “thieves.” To help
us, think about the acronym THIEVES (which you might have seen last year). (Reveal
visual anchor and ask scholars to take notes.)
T - Title
H - Headings
I – Introduction (first paragraph)
E – Every first sentence (of each paragraph)
V – Visuals (pictures, photos, graphs and captions)
E – Ending (conclusion/last paragraph)
S – So What? (summarize your findings from all of the above)
(Talk through each letter of the acronym. Project the article “Too Many Junk Food
Ads!” on the overhead and model labeling each feature. The “So What?” section is a
place to summarize the big ideas revealed by the features of the article and include a
personal reaction to the text. Scholars will have a chance to practice finding the big
idea and interpreting it a lot during this unit. Today, although you’ll determine whether
or not your conclusions about the main idea of the article were accurate, you won’t
41
work too long or hard today on perfecting the “So What?” portion of the THIEVES
strategy.)
Say: In this article, every one of the text features is included in the article, but it’s
important to note that not every text will include every feature.
Say: Now that I’ve found each of the text features, I’ll write down my observations
about each one and use my observations to draw conclusions about the main idea.
Say: When I read a nonfiction text, the first features I usually notice are the title, visuals
and headings. At the beginning of the lesson, we all did some thinking about what we
could “take away” from the visuals and title.
(Model thinking through these two features and jotting down your thinking in a
projected I-Think journal. In this case, you may draw on scholars’ observations and
conclusions from the beginning of class. You may wish to provide an additional
example. After modeling two to three examples, record a one to two sentence
summary in the “So What?” section of THIEVES and a one sentence personal reaction.
You’ll want your scholars to complete the short summary and add their own personal
reaction during guided practice.)
Feature
Title:
Observation
Conclusion
The title “Too Many Junk Food Ads!”
already feels like a strong statement
against junk food and against
advertisements for junk food. I think this,
because of the words “too many.”
Usually when someone says there is “too
much” of something, it’s because there is
an excess of something. In this case, the
excess of junk food ads has a negative
impact.
Based on the title, I think this article is mostly
about how junk food companies and
restaurants are negatively impacting
people by releasing too many tempting
ads. I say junk food companies and fast
food restaurants, because those are usually
the companies issuing advertisements.
Also, the words “junk food” are used in the
title, but the visuals point to fast food.
There are two pictures of advertisements
in this article. The first one is a regular
McDonald’s ad that says, “I’m lovin’ it.”
That’s their famous slogan. The next
visual uses the same slogan but shows
Ronald McDonald looking overweight
and unhappy.
I think the article uses these contrasting
images to show that the reality behind
advertisements is not as attractive as the
image companies like McDonald’s want to
portray. For instance, a lot of people say
that fast food makes people overweight, so
maybe this article will focus on how fast
food advertising is contributing to weight
problems.
Heading(s):
Introduction:
Every first
sentence:
Visuals:
Ending:
So What?
Based on the features of the text, “Too Many Junk Food Ads,” I can conclude that this
42
article will express strong opinions against the amount of junk food ads, like
McDonald’s ads, that companies use to promote unhealthy food. Personally, I think it is
only fair for companies to be able to freely advertise, and it is up to the consumer to
make wise and healthy choices, regardless of the number or type of ads they see.
Say: After I look at the title, headings and visuals, I read the article, paying special
attention to the introduction, the ending (or conclusion) and the topic sentences (or
every first sentence of each paragraph). There is a lot of information about the big
idea of the article to be found in each of those places.
Read aloud the whole article (below) to the class.
Guided:
(For guided practice, give scholars two examples – one for which you provide the
observation, while partners discuss a possible conclusion, and one for which scholars
must provide both the observation AND the conclusion. Scholars should work
collaboratively on the first example. For the second example, ask scholars to work
alone to make an observation and draw a conclusion, then collaborate with a partner
to compare and revise answers. Examples of observations and conclusions are given,
below. Finally, ask scholars to work in pairs to add to or revise the “So What?” section of
their notes and to add a one to two sentence personal observation.)
Feature
Title:
Heading(s):
Introduction:
Every first
sentence:
Observation
Conclusion
In the introduction, the author includes
the startling fact that 12 million kids
struggle with their weight. Then, the
author asks why advertisers “bombard” or
attack kids with their enticing ads for junk
food.
The author wants me to see a link between
the problem with childhood obesity and
junk food advertisement. I say this because
by asking the question about advertisers’
behavior, he implies that they are somehow
responsible for the problem he describes in
the ”hook” or surprising statistic in the
introduction.
I think the author might want me to see the
link between the age of the kids who are
seeing the advertisements and the bigger
moral issue he presents. If young kids are
the ones seeing a ton of junk food
advertisements, they may not have the
know-how to challenge what they see.
When I read through each of the first
sentences of the paragraphs, I see that
studies have been conducted to
determine the type and impact of
advertising on children. For example,
children between the ages of 8-12 see
the most advertising for junk food.
Visuals:
Ending:
So What?
43
Monitor scholars’ work during guided practice. Assist those scholars who struggle to
move from observation to conclusion. Identify two or three pairs who have arrived at
strong answers to highlight during the review. Develop a sense of which scholars will
need your attention during independent practice.
Independent:
During independent practice, ask scholars to complete THIEVES for a second article (or
section/chapter in a nonfiction book that includes numerous text features) on their
own. Circulate to help scholars as they work. Below is an article called “Warning!
Check Your Eggs!” that you might use during independent work or could use for
homework (and ask that scholars repeat the same exercise). Make sure to reinforce a
7:2 ratio of minutes spent reading to minutes spent writing. This will help ensure that
scholars spend ample time in text. Clearly communicate to them when and for how
long during independent practice (2 minutes at a time) they should be writing.
Share/Closing: During the share, while you assess for scholars’ mastery of THIEVES (and
diagnose their ability to summarize the text), allow scholars some time to offer their
personal reactions to the “So What?” section. We want to develop scholars’ reader
response lenses and critical thinking skills. Perhaps after reading a particular article,
some scholars will be “awakened” while others think the main idea is hogwash! Allow
scholars an opportunity to share their opinions with the whole class.
Homework: Assign scholars another article or section from their independent nonfiction
text to read and deconstruct using THIEVES.
44
March 30, 2007
Time For Kids
Too Many Junk Food Ads!
Results of a new study are in!
BY VICKIE AN
More than 12 million kids in the United States
struggle with weight problems. So why are
advertisers still bombarding kids with commercials
for sugary snacks and greasy fast foods?
Health officials have been saying for years that
kids see way too many junk food ads on television.
On Wednesday, a study released by a health
research group called the Kaiser Family Foundation
showed the numbers behind those warnings.
What's the Beef?
The study was the largest ever to be conducted on food ads aimed at kids. Researchers observed 13
television networks over a period of five months. Nearly 9,000 commercials were reviewed.
Of the food ads studied, researchers found that 34 percent were for candy and snacks. Another 28
percent were for cereal, and 10 percent were for fast food. Only a small percentage of commercials
were for dairy products and fruit juices. And how many were for fresh fruits and veggies? Says the
foundation, none.
The findings are troubling to health officials. Especially since it is believed that these ads lead to poor
eating habits. The more junk food kids eat, the higher their risk for obesity. Obesity can lead to
serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and high blood
pressure.
"The vast majority of foods that kids see advertised on television today are for products that
nutritionists would tell us they need to be eating less of, not more of," said Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser
Family Foundation.
Children ages 8-12 were found to see the most TV food ads. They watch about 7,600 of them a year.
Teens see about 6,000 food ads a year, and children ages 2-7 see about 4,400 a year.
Finding the Right Balance
45
In December 2005, the Institute of Medicine
suggested that companies focus more of their
advertising on foods that are lower in fats, salt
and sugars. Several kid favorites, like
McDonald's, the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc.,
have accepted the challenge. The companies
have agreed to promote healthier diets and
exercise in at least half of all ads directed at
kids.
Officials hope the report will be helpful to other
studies examining the effect of the media on
childhood obesity rates.
"We now have data that shows kids are seeing an overwhelming number of ads for unhealthy food,"
Senator Tom Harkin said. "The 'childhood obesity epidemic' isn't just a catch phrase. It's a real public
health crisis."
46
August 23, 2010
Time For Kids
Warning! Check Your Eggs!
More than half a billion eggs are recalled after being tied to a nationwide salmonella outbreak.
BY ANDREA DELBANCO
Egg eaters, beware. More than half a billion eggs have been pulled off of grocery store shelves across
the country after a recall began on August 13. The tainted eggs are linked to an outbreak of
salmonella poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of related
illnesses at 1,300, and believes that number could continue
to grow.
The cause of the outbreak is not yet known, but many of
the infected eggs have been linked to two farms in Iowa,
Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. The farms share
suppliers of chicken and feed. Tainted eggs were distributed
in several states, including California, Illinois, Missouri,
Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
What is Salmonella?
Salmonella, a harmful bacteria, is often carried by birds and
reptiles. The bacteria can also be found in water, soil, raw
meats and eggs. It can be on both the outside and inside of
eggs that appear to be normal. If the eggs are eaten raw or
undercooked, it can cause illness.
NIRMALNEDU MAJUMDAR—AP
Wright County Egg, near Galt, Iowa, is one of
the distributors linked to the outbreak.
Eating food infected with salmonella can make people sick.
It can even be deadly. The most common symptoms of salmonella infection are diarrhea, abdominal
cramps and fever. Babies and the elderly are most affected.
How To Stay Safe
The FDA oversees safety inspections of shell eggs. After the tainted egg outbreak, Margaret Hamburg,
chief of the Food and Drug Administration, said the agency must do more to prevent such outbreaks,
rather than contain them after they start. "We need better abilities and authorities to put in place
these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," says Hamburg.
While the FDA works to ensure safety nationally, there are important steps you can take to ensure
your own safety. Check your cartons to be sure the eggs in your refrigerator aren't affected by the
recall. And always cook your eggs thoroughly before eating them, since high temperatures can kill
harmful bacteria. Reject runny yolks at home and at restaurants. Go to here for a list of recalled egg
brands, and to learn more.
47
Feature
Observation
Conclusion
Title:
Heading(s):
Introduction:
Every first
sentence:
Visuals:
Ending:
So What?
48
Sample Lesson: Main Idea (Adding Up the Big Ideas Into One)
Teaching Point: Good readers know where to look to find the big ideas of a nonfiction
text and can synthesize and summarize them (in their own words) into one main idea.
AIM: SWBAT conclude the main idea of a nonfiction text by “adding up” its topic
sentences into a summary.
Criteria for success (You may choose to explicitly share these during your mini-lesson
OR imply them during your think aloud):
 After applying THIEVES and reading the article, write down initial ideas in the “So
What?” category about the main idea.
 “Add up” each of the topic sentences
 Decide whether each of the topic sentences is relevant. (Is it just a “hook” or part of
the main idea?)
 Paraphrase the topic sentences and synthesize them with initial “So What?” ideas to
create a summary of the text.
Materials:





Copies and/or a means of projecting “Warning! Check Your Eggs!”
Visual Anchor: Topic Sentence Addition
I-Think Journals
Scholars’ nonfiction independent books or whole-class article/excerpt
Homework
Agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Do Now – Quick Summary
Mini lesson – Main Idea Math?
Guided – Add it Up
Independent – Times Two
Share – The Solution Is
Homework
Connection/Hook:
Say: Yesterday, we spent time practicing the THIEVES strategy to locate important
information in nonfiction texts using their text features. Look at the article you read
yesterday (during independent practice or for homework) and your THIEVES notes.
(For this lesson, the sample is: “Warning! Check Your Eggs!”)
49
Say: Yesterday, I told you that we would focus more on the “So What?” section of your
THIEVES notes.
Quick share: Allow 3-4 scholars to share their “So What?” section from their THIEVES
notes aloud.
Say: It’s good to hear your initial ideas about the main idea of the article and your
personal reactions. A little later in class, we’ll use some of your thoughts about the main
idea of the article in our lesson.
Mini Lesson:
Say: The “So What?” section of the THIEVES strategy is the most important section,
because it’s where we present all of the information we’ve “taken away” from our
observations of the text features and our reading in a few short sentences. When you
take a lot of information and condense it into something smaller, it’s called
summarizing. The smaller condensed version is called a summary. A good summary
includes only the important information from a text and leaves out a lot of the details.
Even though you’ve practiced summarizing before, we’re going to spend a bit more
time on it, because it’s actually one of the toughest skills to master.
In future lessons, we’ll talk about how to develop your personal reactions for the “So
What?” section of THIEVES, but that is not our focus today.
Today, I’m going to show you a fun way to write a summary using a strategy called Sum
It Up. The “Sum” stands for summary, but it also stands for adding. To do this, we’re
going to take a closer look at topic sentences or the first “E” (every first sentence) in
THIEVES and “add it all up” to make a great summary. (Language for the mini-lesson,
above, adapted directly from Nonfiction Reading Power by Adrienne Gear, p. 99)
One key place to look for big ideas in a nonfiction text is in the topic sentences. As
writers, you know that the topic sentence should always connect to the thesis – or big
idea – statement of your paper. In that same way, we can look at an author’s topic
sentences to get a sense of which information is important enough to include in a
summary. Of course, not every topic sentence is important to include in a summary.
That’s because sometimes author use topic sentences simply to “hook in” a reader.
They might ask an interesting question or make a shocking or catchy statement to draw
in readers. Also, there may be more details that need to be included beyond what is
included in topic sentences. However, topic sentences are a very helpful place to
start.
I took all of the topic sentences from “Warning! Check Your Eggs!” and listed them
here. My next step is to “add” them all up, until I have the “Sum” or beginning of a
strong summary (project or post the following list as a visual anchor):
50
1. Egg eaters, beware.
2. The cause of the outbreak is not yet known, but many of the infected eggs have
been linked to two farms in Iowa, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.
3. Salmonella, a harmful bacteria, is often carried by birds and reptiles.
4. Eating food infected with salmonella can make people sick.
5. The FDA oversees safety inspections of shell eggs.
6. While the FDA works to ensure safety nationally, there are important steps you
can take to ensure your own safety.
If I read through the topic sentences listed like this, I see I have the beginning of a
summary, because some key information is included. However, it’s incomplete. I need
to spend some time deciding how relevant each of the topic sentences is, what other
information needs to be added, and how I can put the topic sentences into my own
words. (Model for scholars how you think through the first three topic sentences, assess
their relevance, and paraphrase them. When you paraphrase, show scholars how to
add in information and how to simplify when necessary, while not changing the tone of
the sentence/passage. Record or reveal pre-written thoughts in an I-Think journal. See
example, below.)
Topic Sentence Addition
Topic Sentence
1.
Egg eaters, beware.
2.
The cause of the
outbreak is not yet
known, but many of the
infected eggs have been
linked to two farms in
Iowa, Wright County Egg
and Hillandale Farms.
3.
Salmonella, a harmful
bacteria, is often carried
by birds and reptiles.
Relevant?
This seems more like a hook, or
something to scare the reader.
But it also shows me that there is a
danger that people who eat
eggs need to be aware of.
Based on this sentence, I don’t
know which outbreak is being
referred to. However, since I
have read the passage, I know
it’s about salmonella, so I’ll add
that in. I’m not sure that the
names of the farms are truly
important to the brief summary,
so I’ll remove them.
This topic sentence could
practically be added in to the
summary as it is, except that the
reference to reptiles doesn’t
connect to why eating eggs is
dangerous for consumers.
Reptiles lay eggs, of course, but
most people don’t buy them in
stores and eat them. This article is
about the dangers of the eggs
we eat. So, I’ll make the
connection more clear and leave
out the reference to reptiles.
Paraphrase
People who regularly eat eggs
need to be cautious.
An outbreak of salmonella has
been linked to infected eggs from
two farms in Iowa.
Salmonella is a harmful bacteria
that is often carried by birds and,
thus, their eggs.
51
When I “add up” the sentences I’ve paraphrased so far, my summary reads:
People who regularly eat eggs need to be cautious. An outbreak of salmonella has
been linked to infected eggs from two farms in Iowa. Salmonella is a harmful bacteria
that is often carried by birds and, thus, their eggs.
Guided:
Now I’d like your help finishing the summary. (Pair up scholars to decide whether each
topic sentence is relevant and how they would paraphrase it. If time is a factor, assign
specific sentences to certain pair groups, so that different pairs “own” certain summary
sentences. Ask two pairs per topic sentence to share out).
Topic Sentence
4.
5.
6.
Relevant?
Paraphrase
Eating food infected with
salmonella can make
people sick.
The FDA oversees safety
inspections of shell eggs.
While the FDA works to
ensure safety nationally,
there are important steps
you can take to ensure
your own safety.
Use scholars’ responses to add to, and think aloud about, the summary. When all of the
topic sentences, or key ideas, are “added up,” read aloud the “sum” of the summary.
Ask: Is there anything more from your one to two sentence “So What?” summaries from
the work shared at the beginning of class that is necessary to add to our summary?
(Take and incorporate one to two suggestions.)
Independent:
Once you’ve developed a model summary as a group, ask scholars to read
independently (an article or nonfiction independent book/excerpt) and draft a
summary, following the steps, above. You may ask that they complete THIEVES first (if
there is time) or to focus primarily on the “E” or “Every first sentence” portion and the
“So What?” section. You may choose to use the article, below, “Kids Think Food in
McDonald’s Wrapper Tastes Better” for scholars to read and respond to during
independent reading or for homework. Make sure to reinforce a 7:2 ratio of minutes
spent reading to minutes spent writing. This will help ensure that scholars spend ample
time in text. Clearly communicate to them when and for how long during independent
practice (2 minutes at a time) they should be writing.
52
Share/Closing: Monitor the work scholars do during independent reading and select
two scholars who have done an exemplary job to share out to the class. Ask that they
read both the list of topic sentences (to be added up) and the paraphrased summary.
Homework: Scholars should repeat the day’s lesson (“adding up” and summarizing) in
an independent text or new article.
53
Topic Sentences
(List each topic sentence
here.)
Relevant?
(Is it important to include or
is it just a “hook?”)
Paraphrase
(In your own words, write
the most important
information from the
sentence and add any
missing but important
information.)
Record your new paraphrased summary here. Add in any information from your “So What?” notes that is
missing from this summary:
54
Kids Think Food in McDonald's Wrapper Tastes Better
The Associated Press
Any food packaged by McDonald's tastes better to most preschoolers, says a study that
powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children.
Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to kids if it was wrapped in the familiar
packaging of the Golden Arches. The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald's foods
in name-brand or unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test. "You see a
McDonald's label and kids start salivating," said Diane Levin, a childhood development
specialist who campaigns against advertising to kids. She had no role in the research.
Study author Dr. Tom Robinson said the kids' perception of taste was "physically altered by the
branding." The Stanford University researcher said it was remarkable how children so young
were already so influenced by advertising. The study involved 63 low-income children aged
three to five from Head Start centres in San Mateo County, California. Robinson believes the
results would be similar for children from wealthier families. The research, appearing in August's
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, was funded by Stanford and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation.
McDonald's to limit advertising to children
The study will likely stir more debate over the movement to restrict ads to kids. It comes less
than a month after 11 major food and drink companies, including McDonald's, announced new
restrictions on marketing to children under 12. McDonald's says the only Happy Meals it will
promote to young children will contain fruit and have fewer calories and less fat. "This is an
important subject and McDonald's has been actively addressing it for quite some time," said
company spokesman Walt Riker. "We've always wanted to be part of the solution and we are
providing solutions."
But Dr. Victor Strasburger, an author of an American Academy of Pediatrics policy urging limits
on marketing to children, said the study shows too little is being done. "Advertisers have tried to
do exactly what this study is talking about — to brand younger and younger children, to instill in
them a … desire for a particular brand-name product," he said.
Children said milk, carrots packaged with logo tasted best
Just two of the 63 children studied said they'd never eaten at McDonald's, and about one-third ate
there at least weekly. Most recognized the McDonald's logo, but it was mentioned to those who
didn't.
The study included three McDonald's menu items — hamburgers, chicken nuggets and french
fries — and store-bought milk or juice and carrots. Children got two identical samples of each
food on a tray, one in McDonald's wrappers or cups and the other in plain, unmarked packaging.
The kids were asked if they tasted the same or if one was better. (Some children didn't taste all
55
the foods.) McDonald's-labeled samples were the clear favorites. French fries were the biggest
winner; almost 77 per cent said the labeled fries tasted best while only 13 per cent preferred the
others.
Fifty-four per cent preferred McDonald's-wrapped carrots versus 23 per cent who liked the plainwrapped sample. The only results not statistically clear-cut involved the hamburgers, with 29
kids choosing McDonald's-wrapped burgers and 22 choosing the unmarked ones.
Less than 25 per cent of the children said both samples of all foods tasted the same.
56
Sample Lesson: Evaluating Evidence to Assess a Text
Teaching Point: Good readers think critically about the conclusions an author makes in
a text. Good readers can evaluate the difference between key supporting evidence
and interesting but non-essential information in a text.
AIM: SWBAT assess an author’s conclusions in a nonfiction text through evaluation of
text evidence.
Criteria for success (You may choose to explicitly share these during your mini-lesson
OR imply them during your think aloud):
 Ask: What conclusions has the author made about this topic in this text?
 Record ideas in my I-Think Journal (potentially in the So What? section of my
THIEVES notes)
 Underline all of the key details in the text that author uses to support thinking.
 Evaluate the evidence to determine how strong it is.
Materials:
 DO NOW: McDonalds in the Cafeteria?
 Excerpt to project or post and hand out: “Healthy School Lunch Efforts Face
Daunting Hurdles”
 Copies of “School Lunch vs. Junk Food,” and “Food to Feel Good About.”
 Visual Anchor: Evaluating Evidence
 I-Think Journals
 Homework – NY Times article, “What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’ Food”
Agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Do Now – Weigh in on School Lunch
Mini lesson – Evaluating the Evidence
Guided Practice
Independent – Support Yourself
Share
Homework
Connection/Hook:
DO NOW – In your I-Think Journal, write a 1-2 sentence response to the following
question:
Should McDonald’s or other fast food be available for students at lunch time in the
school cafeteria? Why or why not?
57
(Allow three or four scholars to share out.)
Mini Lesson:
Say: Most people, like a lot of us here, have strong opinions about the food we eat.
School lunch has always been a hot topic for debate amongst schools, food-makers
(restaurants and food production companies) and kids. It can be really difficult to
decide how to feed whole school buildings full of scholars!
Today, we’re going to read articles about the issue of fast food in cafeterias. We’ll
assess the author’s conclusions about the topic and then evaluate how effective the
evidence is that s/he used to support his or her thinking. The trouble is, it can be difficult
to know which evidence is strong enough to support our opinions and which is just fluff!
Today, as I think about whether the evidence an author uses to support his or her
conclusions is strong, I’m going to evaluate whether the evidence:
1. supports the author’s big idea or conclusions
2. is based in facts (not opinions)
3. has a reliable source (a professional in the field, a known agency or institution).
I want you to listen as I read a short article about fast food and school lunch and go
through the steps to make my evaluation of the author’s evidence in support of her
conclusions:
(You may wish to post this as a visual anchor for scholars.)




I’ll ask what the author’s conclusions about the topic are in the text.
I’ll record my ideas in my I-Think Journal. (You may want scholars to continue the
THIEVES format throughout the unit, in which case, scholars will record their
opinions and big ideas in the So What? section of their THIEVES notes.)
I’ll go back and underline the key evidence that supports the author’s
conclusions.
Finally, I’ll evaluate the evidence to make sure that it supports the author’s big
idea, is fact-based, and reliable.
Read a section of the article, “Healthy School Lunch Efforts Face Daunting Hurdles”
aloud. Project or post it for scholars (and/or hand it out). The underlined sections in the
text, below, are samples of text you might underline if completing the same (or similar)
think aloud.
58
Healthy school lunch efforts face daunting hurdles
By Lisa Baertlein, Reuters
The U.S. government spends about $11.7 billion a year on school programs that provide lunch for over
30 million children and breakfast for more than 10 million -- but has not updated nutritional standards
and meal requirements since 1995. Photograph by: Jana Birchum, Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - School cafeteria meals like low-fat pizzas with whole grain crust
don't taste too bad to Paola Villatoro, a 17-year-old at Downtown Magnet High School in Los
Angeles.
"Some of it is pretty good," she said.
But West Adams Preparatory School student Alfredo Segura doesn't like them. "It tastes like
prison food," said Segura, 16, as he and other students ate snacks at a fast-food joint near the
school.
Los Angeles Unified School District is an anti-junk-food pioneer, but the obstacles it faces show
how difficult it is to change habits shaped by decades of unhealthy eating promoted by the
mammoth fast-food industry.
The district's food services department has thrown out deep-fat fryers, added more fresh foods
and reduced sodium in cafeteria meals. It also has outlawed sugary sodas and banished junk food
vending machines on campus.
But enforcement has been spotty and fast-food chains and convenience stores wait outside school
gates, eager to provide students with a fix.
Even though she likes some of the school meals, Villatoro joins friends for weekly lunches at a
fast-food outlet across from the school.
The number of U.S. fast-food restaurants exploded to about 220,000 in 2001 from 30,000 in
1970. And over the last three decades, spending on fast food hit $110 billion from $6 billion,
according the public-health focused nonprofit Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation.
59
As working parents turned to restaurants for cheap super-sized meals, the eating habits of adults
and children alike changed and waistbands expanded.
At the same time, schools dropped recess and physical education classes that used to burn off
calories, to carve out more time for lessons.
Obesity rates for school-age children have tripled to 17 percent since 1980. At that rate, there is
an "epidemic in the United States," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Experts worry about soaring rates of diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions as these
children grow up, further adding to the country's health crisis.
In Los Angeles County 23 percent of school children were obese and another 19 percent were
overweight in 2007, the county's health department said.
Say: Based on the information in this article, the author’s big idea or conclusion seems
to be that it is extremely difficult for schools to compete against fast food restaurants for
students’ business, and this is having a negative impact on kids’ health.
Say: I found a lot of interesting information (Go back and underline or reveal previouslyunderlined evidence in the article, including some that may not meet all three
evaluative criteria).
Say: My next step is to evaluate whether or not it’s strong evidence to support the
author’s big idea.
(Think aloud about why each quote does or does not strongly support the author’s
conclusions. Record your thinking on a visual anchor that you post or project that
scholars can see and/or copy into their I-Think Journals.)
EVALUATING EVIDENCE
Conclusion
Quote from the Text
Supports
FactConclusion Based
Reliable
Source
Based on the
information in this article,
it is extremely difficult for
schools to compete
against fast food
restaurants for students’
business, and it’s having
a negative impact on
kids’ health.
“’It tastes like prison food,’" said
Segura.”
Yes. Some
students think
the food
tastes bad
and want
other
choices. This
makes it hard
for schools to
compete
against fast
food
companies
that appeal
No. Alfredo
Segura is
just one
teenager
out of
millions who
eat this
food. He is
not a
reliable
source.
No. This is
one
person’s
opinion.
This
statement
is
impossible
to prove.
60
to kids’
tastes.
“Over the last three decades, spending
on fast food hit $110 billion from $6
billion, according the public-health
focused nonprofit Trust for America's
Health and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.”
Yes. As long
as fast food
companies
continue to
attract this
level of
business, it
will be too
hard for
governmentfunded
health food
lunches to
compete.
Fast food
companies
have the
money to
continue
advertising
and opening
new stores.
Yes.
These
numbers
can be
checked
and
proven.
Yes. This
nonprofit
has
apparently
conducted
a study and
issued this
fact. Of
course, this
organization
is interested
in “public
health,” so
they might
conduct
studies that
help to
build a case
against fast
food
restaurants.
That’s
something
to be
thoughtful
about.
So, of the two pieces of evidence I evaluated to assess the author’s conclusion, only
one is truly strong evidence. (Spend a moment talking through why the second piece
of evidence is stronger than the first. Also take time to explore why the author might
have included the first piece of evidence.)
Guided:
For guided practice, ask scholars to evaluate two more pieces of evidence, then share
their thinking with a partner, before sharing out as a class. They should record their
thinking in their I-Think Journals. You may want to provide one quote for them to
evaluate and ask that they choose the second quote with their partner. Alternately,
you may wish to provide both quotes.
Conclusion
Quote from the Text
Based on the information
in this article, I think it is
extremely difficult for
schools to compete
“Fast-food chains and convenience
stores wait outside school gates, eager to
provide students with a fix.”
Supports
FactConclusion Based
Reliable
Source
61
against fast food
restaurants for students’
business, and it’s having
a negative impact on
kids’ health.
“In Los Angeles County 23 percent of
school children were obese and another
19 percent were overweight in 2007, the
county's health department said.”
Monitor scholars’ progress and select scholars to share out whose responses are strong
in the guided practice. Note which scholars may need your additional support through
conferencing or small group instruction during independent practice.
Quick share: How strong is this evidence that the author provides to support his/her
conclusion(s) or big idea in this text? (You may do a fist-to-five assessment of scholars –
or other whole class assessment – of scholars’ answers. For example, scholars make a
fist if they think the evidence was not at all strong and five if they think it was very
strong. Then allow two to three scholars to clarify their assessment.)
Say: Even if some of us disagree with this article, this author, overall, has supported her
conclusions with strong evidence. There are many examples (cite) of strong evidence
in this article that support the big idea or conclusion made by the author, is fact-based
and reliable.
Independent:
Say: Now you are going to have the opportunity to practice evaluating evidence on
your own. Those of you who said you support having McDonald’s (or fast food) in the
cafeteria will read “School Lunch vs. Junk Food.” Those of you who said you do not
support having McDonald’s (or other fast food) in the cafeteria will read “Food to Feel
Good About” from the McDonald’s website. (Of course, scholars will read articles,
book excerpts or independent texts that relate to your chosen theme.)
Your job is to determine the author’s big idea or conclusion in the article, to underline
evidence and to choose three examples to evaluate.
(Ask that scholars record their thinking in their I-Think Journals. Remind them of the 7:2
ratio for reading and writing. They should spend 7 minutes reading for every 2 minutes
they jot down their thinking.)
Conclusion
Quote from the Text
Supports
FactConclusion Based
Reliable
Source
62
How strong is the evidence the author provides to support his/her conclusion(s) or big
idea in this text? Use the findings you recorded in your journal to support your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Extension Question: What is your opinion of the article? Has it impacted your initial
views about fast food in the cafeteria? Why or why not?
Share/Closing: Give readers of both articles an opportunity to share their evaluations of
the evidence at the end of class. You should pre-select scholars to share out whose
responses demonstrate mastery of the AIM during independent practice.
If time remains, give scholars an opportunity to share their answers to the extension
question and to share with each other how the articles they read did or did not impact
their opinions about fast food in the cafeteria.
Homework: Scholars should repeat the day’s lesson (assessing the author’s conclusion
through evaluation of the evidence) in an independent text or new article. A New York
Times article, titled, “What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’ Food” has been
attached and can be used for homework.
63
Reuters
School lunch vs. junk food
MAY 28, 2009 11:47 EDT
School lunch ladies around the United States are fighting to feed healthier food to the
nation’s increasingly overweight student body, but their biggest obstacle is competing
with fast-food chains like McDonald’s and
junk food like Doritos.
In Los Angeles, the country’s secondbiggest school district is serving up
increasingly nutritious and lowercalorie food (the photo at right shows
two Castelar Elementary students’ lunch
choices).
Despite that, studies have found that
roughly two-thirds of schools had fast-food
chains within easy walking distance.
West Adams Preparatory High School
student Edgar Barragan, 16, ticked off a half-dozen private and public fast-food outlets
near his high school, including McDonald’s and a Burger King that is located kitty-corner
from school (see photo below).
Paola Villatoro, a 17-year-old at Downtown Magnet High School in Los Angeles,
said she joins friends for lunch at a nearby fast-food joint a couple times a week:
“There’s a Jack in the Box right across from school, so we get that.”
A fast-food restaurant within about 500 feet of a
school may lead to at least a 5 percent increase in the
obesity rate at that school, according to a recent study
conducted by economists at Columbia University and
the University California, Berkeley.
Corporate Accountability International has launched a
“Value (the) Meal” campaign aimed at fast-food
chains, which the public interest group alleges are
putting the health of children at risk. The name of the
push comes from fast-food restaurant value
menus that often sell food items for $1 or less.
As part of the campaign, Corporate Accountability
International started a project to map fast-food chains
located near schools in Boston, Chicago and the San
Francisco Bay area.
64
Gabriella Rodriguez, who works in a school cafeteria in Riverside, California, said she
sees the unhealthy food choices kids make when they are given the option.
“They buy a Coke and Hot Cheetos — at 7:30 in the morning,” Rodriguez said.
But competition from junk food is also rampant in areas where fast-food restaurants are
not allowed and where students have no on-campus access to vending machines.
Jamestown, Rhode Island, is a leader in the state’s push to make school lunches
healthier. Still, some elementary students there complain that the new, healthier pizza
has “seeds” and say they miss the “greasy pizza,” tater tots and ice cream that used to
be on the menu.
“I think they could add soda. It’s not healthy,but it’s better than water,” said Josef
Cohen, 10.
He and other students have to go beyond the village’s limits to find fast-food,
but kids dragged in plenty of junk food to school via brown-bagged lunches. That haul
included potato chips, Doritos and chocolate chip cookies.
(Photos/Lisa Baertlein)
65
Food to Feel Good About
(From the McDonald’s website)
Kids need a variety of foods and nutrients every day to help them grow strong,
play long, and learn better in school. We’re constantly looking at our menu to
ensure we’re giving our customers (including our youngest guests) a selection
of balanced choices.
Meet our Experts
Dr. Cynthia Goody, Director of Nutrition
Dr. Cynthia Goody, Director of Nutrition at McDonald’s, is a registered and
licensed dietitian and a member of the American Dietetic Association, the
world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Dr. Goody
oversees McDonald's nutrition strategy, serves as a brand spokesperson and
provides expertise in developing the McDonald’s U.S. menu.
A former Peace Corps volunteer, Dr. Goody has served as a faculty member at
the Harvard University and the Culinary Institute of America’s course for
health professionals. She holds, among other qualifications, a Ph.D. and an
MBA, as well as an M.S. in Food Science, and a B.S. in Food, Nutrition and
Dietetics. (We told you she was an expert!) Read on for her suggestions on
incorporating balanced, wholesome choices into your family’s life.
66
Julia Braun, U.S. Nutrition and Labeling Manager
Julia Braun, McDonald’s U.S. Nutrition and Labeling Manager, is responsible
for the accuracy and accessibility of the nutrition and ingredient information
for all McDonald’s products in the U.S. Working closely with McDonald’s Food
Innovation and Culinary teams, Julia provides nutrition science expertise in
developing McDonald’s U.S. menu.
Julia is a registered and licensed dietitian and holds a Master’s Degree in
Public Health from the University of North Carolina. Julia is a member of the
American Dietetic Association and the National Restaurant Association’s
Executive Nutrition Study Group. She previously held research positions at
the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, as well as the National Center for Food Safety and Technology in
Summit, Illinois.
Wholesome Choices
A quick glance at our menu can show you options that can help even our
youngest customers make good, fun choices!
67
Milk: Our 1% low-fat white milk and 1% low-fat chocolate milk each provide
30% of the daily value for calcium and meet 1/3 of an individual’s daily needs
for dairy, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(USDHHS) and the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans.
Fruit: Apple Dippers and 100% Minute Maid® Apple Juice (6.75 oz) each
provide at least ½ cup of fruit and meet ¼ of an individual’s daily needs for
fruit according to the USDHHS and the USDA 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans.
Meat: Chicken McNuggets made with white meat are a tender, juicy choice.
Whole Grains: The Premium Honey Wheat Roll for Chicken Sandwiches
provides 8 grams of whole grains, which is a half serving of the daily
recommendation of 3 ounces of whole grains, according to the USDHHS and
the USDA 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Vegetables: McDonald’s Premium Salads provide about 3 cups of vegetables 100% of the recommended daily amount of vegetables, according to the
USDHHS and the USDA 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
It may surprise you to learn that our advertised 4-piece Chicken McNuggets
Happy Meal with Apple Dippers, low-fat caramel dip and 1% low-fat white milk
is relatively low in fat, sodium and calories, providing less than a third of the
government’s daily recommendations for total fat, sodium and calories
according to the USDHHS and the USDA 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans.
68
February 26, 2009
What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’
Foods
By ABBY ELLIN
SODIUM — that’s what worries Greye Dunn. He thinks about calories, too, and whether he’s
getting enough vitamins. But it’s the sodium that really scares him.
“Sodium makes your heart beat faster, so it can create something really serious,” said Greye,
who is 8 years old and lives in Mays Landing, N.J.
Greye’s mother, Beth Dunn, the president of a multimedia company, is proud of her son’s
nutritional awareness and encourages it by serving organic food and helping Greye read labels
on cereal boxes and cans.
“He wants to be healthy,” she says.
Ms. Dunn is among the legions of parents who are vigilant about their children’s consumption of
sugar, processed foods and trans fats. Many try to stick to an organic diet. In general, their
concern does not stem from a fear of obesity — although that may figure into the equation — but
from a desire to protect their families from conditions like hyperactivity, diabetes and heart
disease, which they believe can be avoided, or at least managed, by careful eating.
While scarcely any expert would criticize parents for paying attention to children’s diets, many
doctors, dietitians and eating disorder specialists worry that some parents are becoming
overzealous, even obsessive, in efforts to engender good eating habits in children. With the best
of intentions, these parents may be creating an unhealthy aura around food.
“We’re seeing a lot of anxiety in these kids,” said Cynthia Bulik, the director of the eating
disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “They go to birthday
parties, and if it’s not a granola cake they feel like they can’t eat it. The culture has led both them
and their parents to take the public health messages to an extreme.”
Tiffany Rush-Wilson, an eating disorder counselor in Pepper Pike, Ohio, has seen the same
thing. “I have lots of children or adolescent clients or young adults who complain about how
their parents micromanage their eating based on their own health standards and beliefs,” she
said. “The kids’ eating became very restrictive, and that’s how they came to me.”
69
Certainly, not all parents who enforce rules about healthy food — or any dietary plan — are
setting their children up for an eating disorder. Clinical disorders like anorexia nervosa and
bulimia, which have been diagnosed in increasing numbers of adolescents and young people in
the last two decades, are thought by researchers to have a variety of causes — including genetics,
the influence of mass media and social pressure.
To date, there have been no formal studies on whether parents’ obsession with health food can
lead to eating disorders. Some experts say an extreme obsession with health food is merely a
symptom, not a cause, of an eating disorder.
But even without firm numbers, anecdotal reports from specialists suggest that a preoccupation
with avoiding “bad” foods is an issue for many young people who seek help.
Dr. James Greenblatt, the chief medical officer at Walden Behavioral Care, a hospital
specializing in child and adult eating disorders in Waltham, Mass., estimates that he has
recently seen about a 15 percent rise in the number of his young patients who eat only organic
foods to avoid pesticides.
“A lot of the patients we have seen over the last six years limited refined sugar and high fat foods
because of concerns about gaining weight,” he said. “But now, these worries are often expressed
in terms of health concerns.”
Lisa Dorfman, a registered dietitian and the director of sports nutrition and performance at the
University of Miami, says that she often sees children who are terrified of foods that are deemed
“bad” by parents. “It’s almost a fear of dying, a fear of illness, like a delusional view of foods in
general,” she said. “I see kids whose parents have hypnotized them. I have 5-year-olds that
speak like 40-year-olds. They can’t eat an Oreo cookie without being concerned about trans
fats.”
Dr. Steven Bratman of Denver has come up with a term to describe people obsessed with health
food: orthorexia. Orthorexic patients, he says, are fixated on “righteous eating” (the word stems
from the Greek word ortho, meaning straight and correct).
“I would tell them, ‘You’re addicted to health food.’ It was my way of having them not take
themselves so seriously,” said Dr. Bratman, who published a book on the subject, “Health Food
Junkies,” in 2001.
The condition, he says, may begin in homes where there is a preoccupation with “health foods.”
70
Many eating disorder experts dispute the concept. They say that orthorexia, which is not
considered a clinical diagnosis, is merely a form of anorexia nervosa or obsessive compulsive
disorder.
Angelique A. Sallas, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, says the idea of a “health food disorder” is
practically meaningless. “I don’t think the symptoms are significantly different enough from
bulimia or anorexia that it deserves a special diagnostic category,” Dr. Sallas said. “It’s an
obsessive-compulsive problem. The object of the obsession is less relevant than the fact that
they are engaging in obsessive behavior.”
Dr. David Hahn, the assistant medical director at the Renfrew Center, an eating disorders clinic
in Philadelphia, also thinks that orthorexics are anorexics in disguise. “I see many patients that
are overly concerned with the quality of their food, and that’s the way they express their eating
disorder,” he said.
But whatever the behavior is called, those who have lived through a disorder fueled by an
obsession with healthful eating say that the experience can be agonizing. Kristie Rutzel, a 26year-old marketing coordinator in Richmond, Va., began eliminating carbohydrates, meats,
refined sugars and processed foods from her diet at 18. She became so fixated on eating only
“pure” foods, she said, that she slashed her daily calorie intake to 500. Eventually, her weight
fell to 68 pounds and she was repeatedly hospitalized for anorexia.
Today Ms. Rutzel, who said she is normal weight, often talks to young girls in schools and
churches about the perils of becoming health-food obsessed.
Laura Collins, a writer who lives in Virginia, was once a parent who was always “moralizing
about good and bad foods,” she said. “We didn’t serve candy, my kids didn’t have soda.” Ms.
Collins’s daughter, Olympia, became rigid in her eating, fearing food that she worried would
make her unhealthy. By age 14, Olympia developed anorexia, her mother said. To help her
recover, the family had to rethink its entire approach to food.
Some experts are quick to point out that it is not only parents who may contribute to children’s
food anxieties. They cite nutritional programs in schools that may go overboard. “I see younger
kids who have an eating disorder precipitated by a nutrition lesson in school,” said Dr. Leslie
Sanders, medical director of the eating disorders program at Atlantic Health Overlook Hospital
in Summit, N.J.
71
Over the last five years, Dr. Sanders said, she has seen a rise in the number of children who are
fixated on the way they eat: “Some educators categorize food into ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ The kids
come home and say ‘Don’t eat French fries’ instead of talking about moderation.”
The problem, according to some nutritional experts, is that many teachers don’t understand
nutrition well. “We’re driving our kids absolutely crazy,” said Katie Wilson, president of the
School Nutrition Association. “All the stuff about preservatives and pesticides. All an 8-year-old
kid should know is that he or she should eat a variety of colors, and don’t supersize anything but
your water jug.”
Nina Planck, author of “Real Food: What to Eat and Why,” said that it’s a “total cop out” to lay
blame on schools and parents for children’s eating disorders. “The eating disorder comes out of
a disordered psyche,” she said. “You can’t blame the information for causing the eating
disorders.”
But Jessica Setnick, a dietitian in Dallas and author of “The Eating Disorders Clinical Pocket
Guide,” tells a story that suggests parents’ attitudes can affect children. She recalled a mother
who brought in her preteen, apparently bulimic daughter. As Ms. Setnick discovered, the girl
was not trying to lose weight. “Her mother only served brown rice, but she didn’t like it,” Ms.
Setnick said. “She did like white rice. And while I’m not going to tell anyone what they can bring
into their own home, we discussed that when the family went out, it would be O.K. to get white
rice.”
When the girl told her mother what Ms. Setnick said, the mother was furious, according to Ms.
Setnick. “She said, ‘Don’t you know white rice is just like sugar?’ ”
“My heart broke for that girl,” Ms. Setnick said. “She was telling her mother what she needed,
and the mother wasn’t listening.”
Ms. Collins, the author of “Eating with Your Anorexic,” a book about her daughter’s struggle
with anorexia, and director of the nonprofit organization Feast (Families Empowered and
Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders), offers some perspective.
“It’s a tragedy that we’ve developed this moralistic, restrictive and unhappy relationship” with
eating, she said. “I think it is making kids nutty, it’s sucking the life out of our relationship with
food.”
72
7th and 8th Grade U.S. History Scope and Sequence
Grade 7
Year-Long Focus
Unit
Impact of
Geography on
Colonial
America
The Road to
Independence
Big Ideas, Essential Q’s
Impact of Geography;
Conflict:
How does where you live
affect how you live?
Governance, Sovereignty,
and Revolution:
TBD
(Previous EQ: To what extent
were the actions of the
colonial patriots justified?)
The Legacy of
the U.S.
Constitution
Tensions Inherent to
Democracy:
How is the U.S.
Constitution organized to
balance conflicting
interests in a democracy?
What does it mean to be “American”?
What ultimately caused the Civil War?
Content Power Standards
Skill Power Standards
7.1 United States Geography
7.2 Geographic Impact on Native
Americans*
7.3. Early North American Colonization
7.4 Geographic Impact on the Colonies
7.5 Diversity in the Colonies
7.6 Conflict in the Colonies (NA’s and E’s,
French and Indian War)
7.7 Early Democratic Developments
7.8 British Mercantilism
7.9 Pre-Revolutionary Tensions
7.10 The American Revolution
7.11 The Declaration of Independence
7.12 The Articles of Confederation
7.13 History of the U.S. Constitution
(Constitutional Convention, Compromises,
and Ratification)
7.14 Separation of Powers , Checks &
Balances
7.15 Representative Democracy & the
Federalist System
7.16 Rights of U.S. Citizens
7.17 Responsibilities of U.S. Citizens
7.18 The Constitution Then and Now
(including early Presidents)
IA Overview
EVIDENCE (New)
E1: Extrapolate Information
E1.1 Differentiate Sources
E1.2 Analyze Sources
E2: Evaluate Evidence
E2.1 Distinguish Fact from Opinion
WRITING (Review)
W1.2 Write a Defensible Thesis
W2.2 Select Appropriate Evidence
W3.2 Introduce and Conclude
EVIDENCE (New)
E1: Extrapolate Information
E1.3 Contextualize Sources
E1.4 Compare and Contrast Sources
E1.5 Combine Multiple Sources
E2: Evaluate Evidence
E2.2 Determine Uses and Limitations of
Evidence
E2.3 Evaluate Evidence for Bias
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2: Beginning Document
Analysis
Pt 3: Open Response Essay
on EQ
WRITING (New)
W1: Establish a Position
W1.3 Write a Comprehensive Thesis
W2: Develop a Body of Support
W2.3 Substantiate the Thesis
W2.4 Incorporate Outside Information
W3: Organize Writing
W3.3 Group Evidence
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2A: Intermediate
Document Analysis
Pt 2B: DBQ Essay Extended
from 2A and Aligned to EQ
(3-4 Docs)
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work samples each
for Pt 2 & 3
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2: Intermediate Document
Analysis
Pt 3: Open Response Essay
on EQ
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work samples each
for Pt 2 and 3
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work samples for
Pt2 (A&B)
73
Grade 7, Cont’d
Year-Long Focus
Unit
Westward
Expansion &
Early Rights
Movements
A House
Divided
Big Ideas, Essential
Q’s
Diversity, Expansion,
Rights, and Shifting
American Identity:
TBD
(Previous EQ: Whose
interests were and were
not served by Westward
Expansion?)
Multiple Causation,
Conflict:
What ultimately
caused the Civil War?
What does it mean to be “American”?
What ultimately caused the Civil War?
Content Power Standards
Skill Power Standards
7.19 The Louisiana Purchase
7.20 Westward Expansion
7.21 The Jacksonian Era
7.22 Diversity in the West
7.23 Early 19th Century Reform
(1 less power standard for
research)
RESEARCH (New)
TBD – basic research about one of the
diverse groups in the West
WRITING (Review from Unit 3)
CITIZENSHIP (Review)
Ci1: Traverse Multiple Perspectives
Ci1.2 Consider Multiple Perspectives
Ci1.3 Infer Influences and Values
7.24 Developments in
Transportation and Technology
7.25 Causes of the Civil War (2
weeks)
7.26 The Civil war (2 weeks)
7.27 Impact of the Civil War
COMMUNICATION (6th Gr. Review)
C1: Classroom Discussion
C1.1 Keep to the Topic
C1.2 Participate without Dominating
C1.3 Construct Well-Reasoned
Arguments
C1.4 Incorporate Statements of Others
C1.5 Address Counterarguments
WRITING (Review from Unit 3)
IA Overview
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2A: Intermediate
Document Analysis
Pt 2B: DBQ Essay Extended
from 2A and Aligned to EQ
(5 Docs)
Pt 3: Bubble in Research
Scores
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work samples each
for Pt 2 and 3
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2A: Intermediate
Document Analysis
Pt 2B: DBQ Essay Extended
from 2A and Aligned to EQ
(6-7 Docs)
Pt 3: In-Class Seminar Scores
Bring to Data Day:
ALL student work for Pt 2 (to
share with 8th grade team)
AND
Video footage of Part 3 (20
min edit)
74
Grade 8
Year-Long Focus
Unit
Post Civil
War
Legislation
To what extent is America a land of opportunity?
To what extent have we experienced a rights revolution?
Big Ideas, Essential Q’s
Content Power Standards
Skill Power Standards
Legislation, Equality,
Change:
Can equality be legislated?
What is the purpose of law:
to facilitate progress or to
maintain order?
Industry,
Immigration,
and the
Progressive
Response
Industrialization,
Modernization,
Immigration, Progress:
To what extent was U.S.
industrialization and
modernization progressive?
To what extent is America a
land of opportunity?
8.1 Rebuilding a Nation (Post War
Amendments, Devastation in the South,
Lincoln’s Plan and Assassination)
8.2 The Limits of Reconstruction (Differing
Plans for Reconstruction, sharecropping,
Black Codes, Jim Crow)
8.3 Encroachment into the West
8.4 Native American Assimilation
8.5 Post-Civil War Legislation
*Embed within Seminar Cycle*:
EVIDENCE (Review)
8.6 The Rise of Industry (Industrialization,
Mass Production, Railroads)
8.7 Influx of Immigration
8.8 Urbanization and Its Problems
8.9 The Progressive Response
8.10 Perspectives on Industrialization
(robber barrons, immigrants, muckrakers,
labor rights activists, etc.)
*Embed within Seminar Cycle*:
HISTORIAN’S TOOLKIT (New)
E1: Extrapolate Information
E1.1 Differentiate Sources
E1.2 Analyze Sources
E1.3 Contextualize Sources
E1.4 Compare and Contrast Sources
E1.5 Combine Multiple Sources
E2: Evaluate Evidence
E2.1 Distinguish Fact from Opinion
E2.2 Determine Uses and Limitations of
Evidence
E2.3 Evaluate Evidence for Bias
H3: Interpret Varied Displays of Info
H3.2 Interpret Charts
H3.3 Interpret Graphs
H3.4 Interpret Political Cartoons
H4: Identify and Distinguish Causation
and Correlation
H4.3 Identify Multiple Causes
COMMUNICATION (New)
C1: Classroom Discussion
C1.8 Demonstrate Openness and
Flexibility
C1.9 Demonstrate Insightfulness and
Originality
Review C1.1-C1.6
IA Overview
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2A: Intermediate
Document Analysis
Pt 2B: DBQ Essay
Aligned to EQ (6-7
Docs)
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work
samples each for
Pt 2 and 3
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2A: Intermediate
Document Analysis,
incl. charts, graphs,
and political
cartoons
Pt 2B: DBQ Essay
Aligned to EQ (6-7
Docs)
Pt 3: In-Class
Seminar Scores
(rubric includes two
new speaking skills)
Bring to Data Day:
Seminar Video
footage (20 min edit)
75
Grade 8, Cont’d
Year-Long Focus
Unit
Industry,
Imperialism,
and WWI
To what extent is America a land of opportunity?
To what extent have we experienced a rights revolution?
Big Ideas, Essential Q’s
Content Power Standards
Skill Power Standards
Industrialization,
Modernization, Progress,
Imperialism, Conflict
To what extent was
Western industrialization
and modernization
progressive?
What ultimately caused
WWI?
Economic Depression,
Government
Response to International Crisis, and the
Role of Government:
the Great
Depression
To what extent is
and WWII
government responsible for
responding to domestic and
foreign crises?
8.12 European Industrialization and
Imperialist Expansion (US case study:
Roosevelt in Latin America) (1.5 weeks)
8.13 Emergence of Nationalism and
Militarism (US case study: Spanish-American
War) (1.5 weeks)
8.14 The Outbreak of World War I
8.15 US Involvement in WWI (Anti-Imperialist
and Isolationist Sentiment, Eventual
Involvement)
8.16 The Aftermath of WWI
8.17 Causes and Effects of the Great
Depression
8.18 Roosevelt’s New Deal Program
8.19 Government Intervention Now and
Then (combine with research)
8.20 Causes of World War II (incl. Holocaust)
8.21 U.S. Involvement in WWII (incl.
Holocaust)
8.22 Foreign Intervention Now and Then
(combine with research)
*Embed within Seminar Cycle*:
WRITING (New)
W1: Establish a Position
W1.3 Write an Analytical Thesis
W2: Develop a Body of Support
W2.5 Develop Analytical Support
WRITING (Review)
W2: Develop a Body of Support
W2.3 Substantiate the Thesis
W2.4 Incorporate Outside
Information
W3: Organize Writing
W3.3 Group Evidence
*Embed within Seminar Cycle*:
RESEARCH (New)
TBD – scaffolded research instruction
during 8.19 and 8.22
COMMUNICATION (New)
C2: Professional Presentation
C2.1 Control Voice and Body
C2.2 Demonstrate Careful
Preparation
IA Overview
Pt 1: Multiple Choice
Pt 2: Thematic Essay
Aligned to 1 EQ
Pt 3: DBQ Essay
Aligned to the other
EQ (7-8 Docs)
Bring to Data Day:
3 student work
samples each for
Pt 2 and 3
Pt1: Multiple Choice
Pt2.: DBQ Essay
Aligned to EQ (7-8
Docs)
Pt 3: In-Class
Research/Pres.
Rubric Score
Bring to Data Day:
TBD – whatever we
deem most essential
to Capstone prep
76
Grade 8, Cont’d
Year-Long Focus
Unit
Justice
Capstone
To what extent is America a land of opportunity?
To what extent have we experienced a rights revolution?
Big Ideas, Essential Q’s
Content Power Standards
Skill Power Standards
Rights, Revolution, and
Change Over Time:
Who or what “counts” in
the movement for
expanding rights?
To what extent have we
experienced a rights
revolution in the United
States?
DRAFT Justice Capstone Research
Strands:
RESEARCH (Review)
8.22 The Women’s Rights Movement
8.23 The Civil Rights Movement
8.24 The Labor Rights Movement
8.25 The Environmentalist Movement
8.26 Immigrant Rights Today
8.27 Class Issues Today
8.28 Gender Rights Today
READING (Review)
RE2: Collect and Interpret Information
RE3: Synthesize and Report Information
IA Overview
No IA Due to
Extensive Nature
of Capstone
R1: Determine Importance
R2: Take Purposeful Notes
R3: Build Schema
COMMUNICATION (Review)
C1: Classroom Discussion
C2: Professional Presentation
WRITING (Review)
W1: Establish a Position
W2: Develop a Body of Support
W3: Organize Writing
CITIZENSHIP (Review)
Ci1: Traverse Multiple Perspectives
(More Citizenship in years to come)
HISTORIAN’S TOOLKIT
(New and Review)
H1: Use and Arrange Chronologies
H3: Interpret Varied Displays of Info
H4: Identify and Distinguish Causation
and Correlation
H5: Discern Patterns and Trends
77