Teacher’s Guide
2
Grade 4 • Unit 8
Week
Benchmark
Literacy
TM
Summarize and Synthesize/Evaluate
Author’s Purpose
Unit 8/Week 2 at a Glance
DayMini-Lessons
ONE• Build Genre Background
• Introduce the Genre: Tall Tales
• Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tales
TWO• Model Metacognitive Strategies: Summarize and Synthesize
• Introduce Evaluate Author’s Purpose
• Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tales
THREE• Summarize and Synthesize to Evaluate Author’s Purpose
FOUR• Build Comprehension: Analyze Story Elements
• Build Tier Two Vocabulary: Adverbs
FIVE • Synthesize and Assess Genre Understanding
• Make Connections Across Texts
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Day One
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with
which to model the metacognitive strategy “Summarize and Synthesize.” Use
the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy
Overview.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Tall Tale Poster 1
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
•Review the concept of genre and
previously studied genres.
•Create a Tall Tale anchor chart to
demonstrate prior knowledge.
•Build academic oral language
and vocabulary as they engage
in partner and whole-group
discussion.
Related Resources
•Genre Workshop Whiteboard
CD-ROM
Build Genre Background
Say: We have been talking about different genres of literature. What is the
definition of genre? Allow responses.
Ask: What are some genres of literature that you know? (Allow responses.)
What features of that genre do you remember?
Think/Pair/Share. Ask partners to work together to choose a genre of
literature they have studied in class or independently. Then have them write
a list of titles they have read in that genre. Provide time for partners to share
their lists with the group and explain what features are common to all the titles
they listed.
Remind students that knowing about genres of literature is helpful to them as
readers and writers.
Ask: How does knowing about genres help readers? How does knowing about
genres help writers? Allow responses.
•Tall Tale Poster 1 (BLM 1)
2 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day One
Introduce the Genre: Tall Tales
Display Genre Workshop Poster 1 and distribute BLM 1.
Say: This week we are going to focus on the genre of tall tales. You will read
tall tales in your small reading groups, and you can select other titles from this
genre to read independently. Let’s spend some time thinking about this genre
and create our own Tall Tale anchor chart to record what we already know
about the genre. Later in the week, we can come back to our chart and reflect
on how our understanding of the genre has changed and expanded.
Think/Pair/Write/Share. Have students work with a partner to answer the
four questions on BLM 1. After five to seven minutes, bring the pairs together
to share their answers.
Support the academic language development of ELLs and struggling readers
by providing the following sentence frames to use as they discuss the genre:
Tall tales are
.
The purpose of tall tales is to
.
When you read tall tales, pay attention to
.
. People who write tale tales are
Invite pairs to share their ideas about one question at a time. Work together
to consolidate students’ ideas and record them on Poster 1. (See the sample
poster annotations provided on page 4.)
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Beginning
Display a collection of tall tales from
your classroom or school library. Point
to images of the main character and say:
This is [character name]. He/she is a hero.
Have students repeat the word hero after
you.
Intermediate
To help students understand the meaning
of the word superhuman, point to
images of the main character performing
superhuman feats or demonstrating
superhuman size in each book on display.
Ask: Can a real person do/look like this?
Students should shake their heads or
say no. Say: He/she can do/look like this
because he/she is superhuman. Have
students find additional images and
comment on the scene using the following
sentence frame: He/she can
because he/she is superhuman.
Advanced
Focus on the fact that tall tales are
humorous. Have students look at pictures
in tall tales from the classroom or school
library to find examples of humor. Have
them explain what is funny.
All Levels
If you have students whose first language
is Spanish, share the following English/
Spanish cognates: hero/el héroe;
exaggeration/la exageración.
Model the academic sentence frames
provided in this guide to help ELLs
contribute their ideas to the discussion of
tale tales.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 3
Day One
Support Special Needs Learners
Throughout the week, use these
strategies to help students who have
learning disabilities access the content
and focus on genre studies and
comprehension strategies.
Support students by projecting the posters
onto a whiteboard. Allow students to come
to the whiteboard and circle, underline, or
highlight features of the genre. Have them
label what they see on the posters.
Say: I was so hungry this morning that I
could have eaten a dozen eggs and five
pounds of bacon. Discuss the concept
of exaggeration. Ask students why your
statement is an exaggeration. Invite them
to make their own exaggerated statements.
Prepare students to identify examples
of superhuman strength and skill in tall
tales. Discuss superhuman characters they
have seen in the media or in books. Ask
students to name a superhero and his or
her powers.
Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tales
Point to the “Features of a Tall Tale” web on the right side of the poster.
Say: As we’ve discussed, every genre has certain consistent features.
Considering our discussions so far, and your own experiences with this genre,
what do you think are the consistent features of all, or most, tall tales? Let’s
work together to identify them.
Allow students enough time to generate their own ideas, and record the
features they identify on the web. Reread the features together. (See the
sample annotations provided below.) Only if necessary, prompt students with
the following questions and statements:
•How might a tall tale character be different from a real person?
•What kind of problem might the main character in a tall tale have?
•Would you be more likely to laugh or cry when you read a tall tale?
Explain.
Connect and transfer. Say: Keep these features in mind as you read tall tales
this week. Understanding the features of the genre will help you read with
better comprehension.
Find high-interest tall tales that students
can relate to. Use the recommended
read-aloud titles provided in the Teacher’s
Guide, as well as other examples from
your school library.
Tall Tale Poster 1, sample annotations
4 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day One
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Based on students’ instructional reading levels, select titles that provide
opportunities for students to focus on the tall tale genre or to practice
evaluating the author’s purpose. See the list provided on the Small-Group
Reading Instructional Planner.
Use the instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each title to introduce
the text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Confer with individual students to discuss their understanding of the genre.
Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Comprehension Quick-Check
Note which students do or don’t actively
participate in the discussion of genre. Ask
some questions at the end of the lesson
to confirm students’ understanding. For
example:
• What do you already know about the
tall tale genre?
• Why would a tall tale be fun to read?
Home/School Connection
Ask students to think about a chore they
might do at home. Tell them to write a
sentence or two explaining how they might
use superhuman powers to perform the
task. To provide an example, say: To dust
a table, I would take a huge breath in to
suck up all the dust. Then I’d sneeze it out
the door.
Use the Day 1 instruction provided in Grade 4 Word Study Skill Bag 23.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 5
Day Two
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with
which to model the metacognitive strategy “Summarize and Synthesize.” Use
the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark Literacy
Overview.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Tall Tale Poster 2
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
•Summarize and synthesize a tall
tale text.
•Evaluate author’s purpose using a
graphic organizer.
•Use academic sentence frames to
discuss strategies and features of a
tall tale.
Related Resources
•Genre Workshop Whiteboard
CD-ROM
•Tall Tale Poster 2 (BLM 2)
Model Metacognitive Strategies: Summarize and Synthesize
Display Genre Workshop Poster 2 with the genre annotations concealed. Also
distribute copies of BLM 2.
Read aloud the poster passage with students.
Explain: When we summarize a story, we decide which events are most
important and tell them in our own words. We can also synthesize ideas from
the story. We can use the author’s ideas, along with what we know from life,
to decide what the story means to us.
Think aloud: I am going to summarize the first half of “Febold Feboldson.”
This story is about a lonely farmer in Nebraska named Febold who wants
neighbors, so he scatters oranges all over and calls them gold. This tricks
some travelers heading to California into staying.
Now I will synthesize: Febold solves his problem by scattering oranges. I know
this could not happen in real life, but what the story means to me is that to
solve a problem, sometimes we must come up with a clever idea that nobody
else has thought of.
Ask students to generate summaries of the second half of the story and then
to synthesize a meaning they can draw from the tale. Write their synthesis
statements on chart paper and reread them together. Encourage ELLs to use
the sentence frames: This tall tale is about
. What this tall tale means
to me is
.
6 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Two
Introduce Evaluate Author’s Purpose
Explain: Authors have a reason, or purpose, for writing what they do. The
main reasons for writing are to persuade, inform, and entertain readers.
For example, the author of a letter might want to persuade us, the author of
a newspaper article wants to inform us, and the author of a fictional story
probably wants to entertain us. As readers, we can use evidence in the text
to evaluate, or figure out, the author’s purpose. Let’s determine the author’s
purpose for writing “Febold Feboldson.”
Reread “Febold Feboldson.” Ask students to evaluate the author’s purpose.
Have them cite evidence from the tall tale to support their responses. Provide
the following academic sentence frames to support ELLs and struggling
students:
The author’s purpose is to
.
The evidence I used was
.
Record students’ responses on a graphic organizer like the one shown below.
Author’s Purpose
to entertain
Evidence
The story is unbelievable and funny:
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Beginning and Intermediate
Use simple cutouts of oranges, flames, and
clouds to help tell the story. Have students
scatter the oranges around the classroom,
pretend to set the fires, and hold up the
clouds at the appropriate times as you
read the story.
Advanced
Have students identify all the examples of
exaggeration in the story. Guide them in
talking about why these exaggerations are
humorous.
All Levels
Give a brief overview of the California Gold
Rush, if needed. Explain that someone
found gold in California in the 1800s,
causing lots of people to rush there to find
more gold and become rich.
Febold scatters a million crates of
oranges across the plains.
The homesteaders think the oranges
are gold.
Febold lights a thousand fires and
causes rain clouds to form so his
friends will stay.
Sample Evaluate Author’s Purpose Annotations
(Note: Your class graphic organizer may differ.)
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 7
Day Two
Comprehension Quick-Check
Focus on Genre Features: Tall Tales
Assess students’ ability to discuss features
of tall tales. Use the following strategies to
provide additional explicit instruction.
Ask students to name some of the features of tall tales that you discussed
yesterday.
Display Poster 1. Point to a feature (for
example, the hero has superhuman
strength and skill) and refer to the
tall tale.
Say: The hero of a tall tale has
superhuman strength or skill. Where in
the story does Febold show superhuman
strength or skill? (scattering oranges across
the plains, setting a thousand fires)
Then use the same procedure to focus on
other features.
Say: By examining the features of tall
tales, we can evaluate the author’s
purpose.
Oral Language Extension
Display Poster 1 at independent
workstation time. Have pairs of students
refer to the features of a tall tale as they
discuss “Febold Feboldson.” They should
call attention to any text that helps them
evaluate the author’s purpose. Encourage
them to take notes so they can share
details from their discussion during
independent conference time.
Home/School Connection
Have students turn in their Day 1
homework paragraphs. If time allows,
invite them to share their ideas for using
superhuman skill to perform a task.
Then assign them to take home BLM 2,
reread the text, and highlight and label
the features of a tall tale present in the
passage.
Say: Now let’s reexamine “Febold Feboldson” and look for features of tall
tales. What do you notice?
Work with students to identify the following genre features embedded in this
passage:
•a hero, Febold, who is like real people in many ways
•superhuman skills such as making rain clouds by setting a thousand
fires
•outwitting travelers and nature
•a story that is funny because of exaggerated details such as a million
orange crates
Reveal the poster annotations so students can confirm or revise their ideas.
Reread them as a group.
Connect and transfer. Say: As you read a tall tale today in your small groups,
look for these features. The features of the tall tale will help you summarize
and synthesize the story. You can use your summary and synthesis to
evaluate the author’s purpose.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Confer with individual students to discuss their understanding of genre and
comprehension strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to
help guide your conference.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 2 instruction provided in Grade 4 Word Study Skill Bag 23.
8 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Three
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Summarize and Synthesize.”
Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark
Literacy Overview.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Summarize and Synthesize to Evaluate Author’s Purpose
Display Genre Workshop Poster 3 and distribute BLM 3.
Read the story aloud with students. Say: We are going to evaluate the author’s
purpose for writing this story. To do that, we will summarize and synthesize
the text. First I will summarize the story, and then I want you to synthesize
the text and evaluate the author’s purpose. Here is my summary: Mighty Joe
Magarac was the greatest steelworker of all time. He single-handedly made
more steel than anyone else. He made enough steel to lay train tracks from
Pittsburgh to New York and back.
Say: Use my summary and what you know from your own life to synthesize
the story. Allow responses. If students are unable to synthesize a meaning,
prompt them to think about the following:
•What do you know about someone who can personally make
2,000 tons of steel?
•What does the story mean to you?
Say: Summarizing and synthesizing helps us evaluate the author’s purpose.
On a graphic organizer, let’s write an idea about the author’s purpose. Then
we will note evidence from the story that supports that purpose.
Tall Tale Poster 3
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
•Review features of the tall tale
genre.
•Summarize and synthesize the text.
•Use their understanding of genre
features to evaluate the author’s
purpose.
•Build oral language and vocabulary
through whole-group and partner
discussion.
Related Resources
•Genre Workshop Whiteboard
CD-ROM
•Tall Tale Poster 3 (BLM 3)
•Evaluate Author’s Purpose (BLM 4)
Work with students to use the summary and synthesis to evaluate the author’s
purpose. Record their responses on a graphic organizer like the one shown on
page 10.
Next, guide students in developing a statement about the author’s purpose
based on the ideas on your graphic organizer. Remind students that they must
find evidence in the story for their evaluations of the author’s purpose.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 9
Day Three
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Point out that the author has an overall purpose for writing a tall tale and that
each character and event helps the author achieve that purpose.
Beginning and Intermediate
Connect and transfer. Say: As you continue to read tall tales this week, you
will summarize, synthesize, and evaluate the author’s purpose.
Point to and name people and objects in
the illustration. Ask students to name them
with you: Joe Magarac; steelworker;
steel; furnace; vat of hot, melted steel.
All Levels
If you have students whose first language
is Spanish, share the following English/
Spanish cognates: mountain/la montaña;
liquid/el líquido; train/el tren.
Comprehension Quick-Check
Note whether students can evaluate the
author’s purpose. If they need additional
support, say: All tall tale authors have a
purpose in writing the tale. The purpose
is to entertain. They usually accomplish
this by exaggerating. When you read a tall
tale, look for evidence of exaggeration.
Have students help you underline evidence
of exaggeration on the poster.
Home/School Connection
Have students take home the graphic
organizer Evaluate Author’s Purpose
(BLM 4). Ask them to imagine a tall tale
they might want to write. Tell students
to list what their purpose is for telling
this tale. Have them jot down events or
details that would help them achieve that
purpose.
10 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
Author’s Purpose
to entertain
Evidence
Joe Magarac has superhuman
qualities.
He jumps right into a vat of hot metal.
He uses his sweat to put out a fire.
He makes 2,000 tons of steel all by
himself.
Sample Evaluate Author’s Purpose Annotations
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of
genre and comprehension strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking
Form to help guide your conference.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 3 instruction provided in Grade 4 Word Study Skill Bag 23.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Four
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Summarize and Synthesize.”
Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Benchmark
Literacy Overview.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Build Comprehension: Analyze Story Elements
Tall Tale Poster 3
Say: Tall tales include the same story elements as other types of fiction. These
elements include characters, setting, events, and author’s message. Let’s
analyze the story elements in “Mighty Joe Magarac.”
Lesson Objectives
Reread Poster 3 with students.
•Analyze story elements.
Say: We are going to make a story element chart. We will put on our chart the
important elements of the story. What kinds of information do you think we
should look for in the story? Allow responses.
Engage students in a discussion to review that there are two kinds of
characters in the story, realistic and fanciful, and more than one setting. Point
out that events should be listed in sequential order.
Students will:
•Extend Tier Two Vocabulary by
focusing on adverbs.
•Build oral language and vocabulary
through whole-group and partner
discussion.
Related Resources
•Genre Workshop Whiteboard
CD-ROM
•Tall Tale Poster 3 (BLM 3)
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 11
Day Four
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Beginning
Through pantomime and use of the
illustrations, clarify the meaning of difficult
words in the chart, such as vat. Have
students repeat the words after you.
Intermediate
Help students identify the order of story
events. Ask: What happened at the
beginning? What happened in the middle?
What happened at the end? Model using
sentence frames such as: At the beginning,
Joe
.
Advanced
Explain that students can use the strategy
of synthesizing to figure out the author’s
message.
On chart paper, draw a chart like the one shown below.
Think/Pair/Write/Share. Tell students they will complete this chart. Say:
Work with a partner to identify the story elements. Make a chart like the one I
just drew, and fill in your ideas. Then we will share them as a group.
As partners share story elements, add them to the chart.
Connect and transfer. Say: Remember, when you read a tall tale, you should
be aware of the story elements. Thinking about the features of tall tales will
help you. Then you can use a chart like this one for help in summarizing and
synthesizing text.
Title: Mighty Joe Magarac
Setting: steel mill
Characters: Joe Magarac and the
other steelworkers
Problem: The huge mixer at the steel mill breaks.
Event: Joe jumps into the vat of melted steel.
All Levels
Pair ELLs with fluent English speakers
during partner discussions and activities.
Comprehension Quick-Check
Take note of students who may need
more support to identify the elements of
“Mighty Joe Magarac.” Provide additional
modeling during small-group reading, and
have them practice during independent
workstation time by analyzing story
elements of another tall tale excerpt that
you assign.
12 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
Event: A fire breaks out, but he puts it out with his sweat.
Event: He makes enough steel to lay railroad tracks from New York to
Pittsburgh and back.
Author’s Message: Joe Magarac is the greatest steelworker of all time.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Four
Build Tier Two Vocabulary: Adverbs
Oral Language Extension
On chart paper, write the sentence He could easily twist iron rods with his
bare hands.
During independent workstation time, ask
pairs of students to discuss the Author’s
Purpose charts they filled in as homework
on Day 3.
Say: Easily is an adverb. Adverbs tell when, how, or where. Easily tells how
Joe Magarac twisted iron rods. What do we know about Joe based on this
description of how he can twist iron rods?
Turn and talk. Ask students to turn and talk with their neighbor for a moment
to come up with a list of other adverbs that could be used in the sentence to
provide the same meaning.
Ask students to share the list of adverbs they generated, and record them
on chart paper. Invite students to read the sentence from the poster and
substitute various words from their list. Then challenge students to use the
adverbs in new sentences. Remind students that the adverbs they generated
describe how someone does something.
Home/School Connection
Have students take home BLM 3 and read
it with a family member to practice fluent
reading. Tell students to have their family
members sign the page to indicate they
participated in the reading.
Invite students to change the meaning of the poster sentence by generating
a list of adverbs that mean the opposite of easily. Discuss how these words
would convey a very different image of Joe Magarac.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of
genre and word-solving strategies. Use the Reading Conference Note-Taking
Form to help guide your conference.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 4 instruction provided in Grade 4 Word Study Skill Bag 23.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 13
Day Five
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Revisit the week’s read-alouds to make text-to-text connections and provide
opportunities for reader response. Use the suggested activities in the
Benchmark Literacy Overview, or implement ideas of your own.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Tall Tale Poster 4
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
•Evaluate author’s purpose in tall
tales.
•Review features of the tall tale
genre.
•Make text-to-text connections.
•Build academic oral language and
vocabulary through small-group
and whole-group discussions.
Related Resources
•Genre Workshop Whiteboard
CD-ROM
•Tall Tale Poster 2 (BLM 2)
•Tall Tale Poster 3 (BLM 3)
•Tall Tale Poster 4 (BLM 5)
Synthesize and Assess Genre Understanding
Synthesize genre understanding. Ask students to work in small groups to
create a checklist for evaluating the quality of a tall tale. Students should think
about whether or not the features of the genre are well represented. They
should also consider the writing quality and interest level. Instruct all group
members to contribute an idea to the discussion. Groups should select a
recorder and a spokesperson.
Give students five to seven minutes to discuss and record their ideas.
Have each group’s spokesperson share his or her group’s ideas. Record key
ideas from each group on chart paper.
Self-assessment. Display the class Tall Tale anchor chart from Day 1. Ask each
group to compare their ideas to the information they recorded on the anchor
chart on Day 1.
Ask: How has your understanding of the tall tale genre developed? What do
you know now that you didn’t know before? Encourage individual students to
share their personal insights.
Connect and transfer. Ask: How can you use your new understanding of this
genre as a reader the next time you read a tall tale? How do you think you
can use your genre knowledge as a writer?
Make Connections Across Texts
Display Tall Tale Poster 4, and distribute a copy of BLM 5 to each group.
Say: Let’s make a chart to help us compare and contrast these two genre
models.
14 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Five
Ask each group to use their annotated poster BLMs to fill in the graphic
organizer on BLM 5.
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Give students about five minutes to record their ideas on the graphic
organizer, and then bring the groups together. Ask students for their ideas,
and fill in Poster 4 as a whole group.
Beginning and Intermediate
Challenge students to express their own opinions on these subjects:
•If you had a problem, which hero would you prefer to help you solve
it? Why?
•Which story was more fun to read? Why?
Connect and transfer. Say: When you compare and contrast two tall tales,
think about how each one reflects the features of the genre. Which features
of tall tales did the author include? Did the writer make you admire the hero?
Why or why not?
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Ask guiding questions to help students
compare the stories. For example, ask:
Does Febold work hard? Does Joe work
hard? Beginning ELLs may answer with a
simple yes or no. Intermediate ELLs should
answer in complete sentences. Support
these students by modeling a sentence,
such as: Febold works hard, and Joe works
hard, too.
Intermediate and Advanced
Provide sentence frames to help ELLs
contribute to their groups’ discussions. For
example:
One feature of tall tales is
.
The tall tales are alike because
.
The tall tales are different because
.
All Levels
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the tall tale genre. Use
the Reading Conference Note-Taking Form to help guide your conference.
Pair ELLs with fluent English speakers
during all partner and group activities.
Encourage ELLs to revisit the books they
are comparing and to find and read
specific information in the text to help
them communicate their ideas.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 5 instruction provided in Grade 4 Word Study Skill Bag 23.
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 4 • Unit 8/Week 2 15